Running Up That Hill
by Breviary-Rose
Summary: Jane struggles to manage life after Svartalfheim; meanwhile, a ghost from the past lingers close as new enemies threaten the very existence of humanity once more. As Jane uncovers information of a new companion, the astrophysicist questions everything she thought she ever knew. Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over. [LOKANE]
1. The Pull On My Flesh Was Just Too Strong

__"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."__

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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A violent stream of flashes blinded me as I stood behind the podium. My hands aggravatingly clutched both sides of the polished dark wood as my vision began to trickle back in. I stood before a massive crowd of reporters: all eager to ask their questions. Their voices were a volatile mesh of many sentences fusing into one incoherent string of noise.

Instinctively, I raised my right hand before my eyes as another flood of flashes violated my sight. I groaned loudly, not exactly caring about their feelings at the moment. My foot began to race up and down, tapping against the hard stage floor, which was slightly amplified by the sensitive microphone before my mouth.

"I will answer questions as soon as y'all stop taking photos," I blurted out in warning.

Immediately, the crowd's flashes—and voices—silenced. An awkward shift between the chaotic mess and the momentary peace hung over me briefly until I lowered my hand back down, once more gripping the side of the podium.

"Now, I will take any questions relevant to the events in London," I began a bit too meagerly.

Hundreds of hands flew up as all of the reporters tried to fight each other to be heard. I almost wanted to place both hands over my ears for dramatic affect, but withheld the gnawing urge.

I quickly scanned the mass and shook my head helplessly before I settled on a young woman in the center of the third row. "Thank you for selecting me. _The New York Times_ would like to inquire about how Asgard is like in terms of technology and culture."

I rolled my eyes, "Asgard was never supposed to be seen by mortals—ever. So for that reason, I refuse to disclose that information. Next question, please."

I once again randomly selected someone who shot up out of their seat holding up a microphone. "Don't you think that we deserve to know about a race of people who could potentially attack us again?"

I stomped loudly, "Asgard has never once launched an attack on Earth to my knowledge. Next question."

"Miss Foster, _Us Weekly_would like to know about your relationship with Thor."

My throat emitted a low growl, which was amplified throughout the auditorium. "Does anyone have any relevant questions regarding the events in London?"

"Was Loki involved somehow? And will he be attacking us again in the future?"

I paused at the mention of that name. Before my eyes the god of mischief died in Thor's arms. I swallowed, though tears smarted against my yielding veil of neutral emotion. Not wanting to bring attention to my pause, I stated, "Loki is detained where he cannot breach the distance between Midgard and where he is. He will no longer be a threat to humanity."

"Is Loki still alive? _If_ he still is, he will always remain a viable threat to Earth."

Quickly, I rebutted, "This is not a questioning of certain individuals. I am here to represent SHIELD, Thor, and my eyewitness testimony."

"Tell us if he lives! We were attacked once with tragic losses before. We deserve to know! I've heard that there have been rumors that he was with you before the convergence made its way here!"

Defensively, I clutched dangerously at the podium, "You have no idea what occurred before we had to come here to defend Earth and the rest of the universe. If you're looking for a story to scare the rest of the world, there are none to be told! For the last time, are there any questions relevant to the events of London?"

"Miss Foster, you're not working with or for SHIELD according to my research! Why would you have any reason to hide the truth from your fellow human beings?"

"Because Asgard, Loki, and the rest of the worlds are none of our business! We were never supposed to know about them. I have my loyalties to make sure something like New York never happens again from our end. The more we know about Asgard, the more we will compete with advancing technology, knowledge, and resources: all artificial to the human race."

"So you're saying that they're prepared to attack us because they have access to more advanced materials than Earth?"

My hands began to shake, "If we compete, a war will be brought between us again. Humans have a need to conquer. I'm preventing a future of endless expansionism."

"Has Loki taken over your mind, too, Jane? Why else would you protect Asgard?"

I shouted in anger, "I'm of my own mind! Loki cannot reach me or Earth from where he is anymore. That's all the time I have for questions."

I threw myself from the podium, but instead of walking as far away as possible, I felt myself freeze as I fell into nothing but a bitter, soundless black.

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I frantically awoke in a strange cylinder compartment encased with glass all along the walls and a matching bright white ceiling and floor. The blackness intruded once more into my eyes quickly, still trying to dominate over the harsh lights.

As my vision focused, I drowsily edged my head around over my left shoulder, seeing a control panel just outside the encasement. From my memory of being detained in Europe during the events of the New York Incident, I immediately knew I was being held captive somewhere on SHIELD headquarters.

My head pounded vibrantly. Confused, I whined, "Owie." I inwardly joked about how childish I could sound sometimes before continuing, "Why am I here?"

"Because you blacked out at the auditorium, Jane Foster," a feminine lull stirred from behind.

I shot up from where I rested. Meeting the woman's gaze with full intensity, I realized that it was none other than Natasha Romanov, or the Black Widow. "Romanov," I greeted.

"You've been a heavy interest to Nick Fury since Thor left you here for Asgard. We've been watching you from an appropriate distance for weeks," the red-head explained.

I nodded in response.

"We took you in to initially question you ourselves. We know that you had something inside of you based on Darcy's testimony. Erik also confessed. They called it the Aether."

"You caught me, Agent Romanov, so can I go now?"

Her eyes lit up with mischief. She knew something I did not. She quickly crossed her arms and smiled, "You're not going anywhere until we find out what's happening to you. Bruce was there at the press conference. He's the one that carried you out of the place without being swarmed by reporters."

I lifted my right brow, truly intrigued, "What happened after that?"

Natasha lowered her chin and narrowed her eyes, "You began to turn green. And then he passed out. Lucky for you both, Nick and I were just out of sight when it happened. Reporters captured photos of the exchange and now paint you to be a traitor."

My throat went dry as my limbs went numb.

She chuckled. "Some even think you're Loki."

"I'm not—"

"Oh, I know. Your eyes would be a light, pale blue if you were. At least they'd be if Loki had the Tesseract to control you."

My stomach fluttered and my heart began to sink deeper inside my chest. I glanced down at my joined fingers as I replied, "Loki's dead. He died on Svartalfheim."

Agent Romanov scoffed, "The monster had it coming. But that's good news." She cleared her throat, choosing to continue, "We ran some brief tests to see if it would happen again. And it did. But only when your hand touched someone directly."

Irritable, I spat, "Why am I in here?"

Natasha lifted her features to produce a soft smile, "We don't know if you're lethal yet. Bruce and the four others who touched your hand still haven't woken up."

"How long has it been since the contact?" I cautiously inquired.

She took an obvious pause, "Six days."

"Jesus," I uttered. My bones felt heavy, and now my head was light.

"They aren't dead. They're stable, breathing on their own. They haven't come back into consciousness, though. That's the only reason you're in this. But, I've been given orders to let you out on one condition."

Even though my lungs stuttered as I sharply inhaled, I murmured, "What is it?"

She produced a pair of dark emerald leather gloves from behind her, "You'll have to wear these."

"Of course."

Once again, the avenger nodded precisely and smirked. Hastily, she walked over to the control panel and hit a button, allowing the glass entrance to slide open. "Come on, Foster."

Sighing, I retrieved the gloves from her hand and placed them over each finger as quickly as possible. "Where am I going to go? I couldn't possible go home if everyone thinks I'm someone else."

"You're just as perceptive as Tony and Bruce. You're right. We're relocating you," she offered with flourished syllables.

She guided me through the door out into a main passageway. "So, where?"

Natasha opted not to reply; instead, she led me through the halls, traveling up a few flights of stairs until we arrived outside altogether. There, in the center of the platform, Thor stood. His features weren't as joyful. In times when seeing each other after periods of time apart, he'd have a smile specially reserved only for me.

Butterflies invaded my stomach when Agent Romanov finally replied, "To Asgard."

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

So, I decided to retire the old title. I found a song that fits the theme of where I'd like this story to go. Forgive me for any confusion! I'm only trying to improve this story for your benefit! How're you? Tell me in a _**review**_! :D

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	2. Am I Gonna be an Optimist About This?

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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The lady avenger nodded precisely and smirked. Hastily, she walked over to the control panel and hit a button, allowing the glass entrance to slide open. "Come on, Foster."

Sighing, I retrieved the gloves from her hand and placed them over each finger as quickly as possible. "Where am I going to go? I couldn't possible go home if everyone thinks I'm someone else."

"You're just as perceptive as Tony and Bruce. You're right. We're relocating you," she offered with flourished syllables.

She guided me through the door out into a main passageway. "So, where?"

Natasha opted not to reply; instead, she led me through the halls, traveling up a few flights of stairs until we arrived outside altogether. There, in the center of the platform, Thor stood. His features weren't as joyful. In times when seeing each other after periods of time apart, he'd have a smile specially reserved only for me.

Butterflies invaded my stomach when Agent Romanov finally replied, "To Asgard."

Standing there, the wind felt less harsh over my skin than seeing Thor again trying to contain me. Perhaps I had become secluded after the events of Svartalfheim. I hadn't witnessed so much devastation in such a horrific and short frame of time in the measly few twenty-eight years of living.

Without processing what was going on more rationally, my head shook from side to side, "I'm not going back there. I told you that, Thor. I want nothing to do with any other realm other than my own!"

Thor rushed to my side, "Jane, we have had more than a few differences in recent times; however, we need to examine you closer so we may help you."

"Help me?!" I barked, disbelief clinging to my tongue. Taking a hasty breath, I continued, "The last time you were helping me, two members of your family died while trying to save me and you. And besides, do you really think I'm helpless? I'm going to figure this out without any help from anyone. Just being with me is dangerous for you."

Romanoff stepped between me and Thor abruptly, "If you're going to need to talk, then we need to get back inside. No one knows she is here, and we're flying at an altitude that is infested with commercial flights."

I stepped around her and crossed my arms over my petite frame, "_Oh_, I don't think we're going anywhere."

"She is right, your wellbeing is greater than our personal trivialities," Thor added with a profoundly irritating sense of righteousness."

I stepped back a few feet and held out my left hand, "Just save it, Thor. For now, our _trivialities_ can be kept for another day. I'm not going to let you play hero with my life anymore."

"Jane-" he brokenly uttered.

As he started to get closer to me, I turned my attention to Natasha, "I don't plan on complying with any of you. I will stay out of everyone's way and not touch anything so long as I can have an annexed laboratory to conduct the necessary tests on myself. I don't want to be around any of you. I want a room separate from anything that has a life source. Got it?"

Turning on my heel towards the sliding automatic door, I notice a man standing off in the extreme parts of my peripheral vision. He appeared younger than I was: probably around the age of twenty-one. He was drenched in a form-fitting, durable black operational suit like the other SHIELD workers.

As I observed him, he glanced over to me and sent his eyes over my short form: ever so slowly. Eventually he nodded my way, raising a brow. Without the want for being rude, I simply lowered my head, mimicking his nod in reply. His crisp hazel eyes seemed worn, but incredibly alert. To me, he appeared drained of a few days of sleep.

Quickly, I heard footsteps approaching, so I moved my body so that I peered over my right shoulder. Thor had his hand very close to my bare arm, so shoved myself to the side, now standing next to the man in the uniform.

"Jane, you can't hurt me. I was safe from the Aether, remember?"

Vulnerable to the very word, I shook my head, keeping my distance. Although my attitude suggested a keen dislike for the man, I still cared very much for him. I was sure that we'd eventually be happy. Clots of tears clouded my vision as I bit my lip, "I just don't want to hurt anybody. I can't let you be with me right now; can't you get that?"

"Jane, we're in this together. Whatever you face, I face with you. Despite whatever it is that you believe me to think, you are not helpless. I'm not afraid of this, nor you. I care about you more than I thought I could. It pains me to see you this way," Thor confessed softly.

Deciding to sharpen my features to adapt to the unusual contempt toward the Asgardian before me, I spat, "Then do what you do best. Stay away from me!"

Holding his gaze intently, he looked away. And after a few brief seconds of silence, he coldly retorted, "As you wish." Thor rushed toward the door to go inside.

My feet beckoned for me to follow, but for the moment, distance was for the best. Natasha scoffed and ran after her fellow Avenger. It was clear that they felt a connection of kinship toward one another. Maybe the Avengers would have more than enough to keep Thor busy.

My lungs released a pocket of breath they'd kept hostage until relief settled over my nerves. I restlessly threw myself against the wall to my left. "You have to be bored."

Being the only other human being around, the man quickly noticed that it was indeed him with which I was speaking to. "On the contrary, I find the open sky relaxing."

"I wouldn't ever be able to simply stand in one place. I have to have something going on; else, I'd just poke my head into something that ends up being dangerous," I quipped. I didn't know why I had decided to say anything at all. When things grew even remotely awkward, I had a nasty habit of spilling over a stream of words unrelated to anything.

"Doubtful we'll see each other very often, my name is Logan Kurtz," he retorted without humor. His speech was heavily weighted by a southern American accent.

I raised my brow, "Oh? You're not the only one that enjoys the open sky. I'm an astrophysicist, so the universe and sky are kinda relevant. I specialize in things many believe to be stupid, actually. Turned out I was a mad genius."

"Your referring to the wormholes, right?"

My belly tightened. I brought a hand to scratch at the back of my head, "I suppose you have heard of me, then."

"You're Jane Foster. There is not a soul that does not know of your existence now."

I raised my head, curiosity gnawing at my brain, "You speak awfully properly for someone who simply stands in his post."

"You think it above my classification as post-keeper to speak with refinement?" he dully replied.

I sealed my lips to a thin and straight line, shaking my head simultaneously, "I find it curious, that's all."

"As you've mentioned, your curiosities often prove rather dangerous," Kurtz warned, his eyes wondrously shielded from revealing any of his thoughts.

I knitted my brows close together and sighed. I glanced up at him and stood. "I've taken down a Hulk. I'm more than qualified to handle myself."

"Is that arrogance or a veil of deluded confidence I hear?"

Shoving my arms across each other, I straightened defiantly, "What's your problem? I was only trying to make conversation."

His features remained stable, vacant directed at me. I suddenly was washed with frustration. Quickly, he spat, "My problem began when you insisted on making conversation. My job is not to entertain you. Besides, you just asked Thor himself to quit bothering you. I must ask the same of you."

I drew back my head, unaware of me being bothersome. I exhaled dramatically. "Well, fine."

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"WHAT?" I shouted.

Fury stood at the threshold of the bright lab. "Jane, we have standards that you must adhere to. You surpassed a level of threat beyond to that of Loki himself by bringing down the Hulk. You're to be under the watch of only one of our soldiers. We cannot risk any more lives to be lost."

"Absolutely not! And what do you mean I'm a threat? You don't see me going around killing people! I'm just a scientist."

"Jane Foster, you've given me more of a headache than Thor's 'adopted' brother. At least when he was here, he was quiet for the most part."

Bothered by the continual mention of Loki, I unconsciously glanced at my hands. Attempting to right myself, I retorted, "And after he nearly destroyed the ship." Briefly, I paused, "Would you stop bringing him up?"

Nick Fury _tsked_ ardently. "Look. Frankly, I don't give a shit about what happened to you. All I care about is that he is dead. And you're not just a scientist anymore, Dr. Foster. That slammed to a grinding halt the day you met Thor."

I bit back my words, trying to alleviate the tension. I needed to be able to focus for this new work. "Listen, if it's just one person: fine. Just let them know about my...condition for their sake. Kay?"

"Actually, that's the strange part. There was a volunteer."

That caught me off guard, "Who'd volunteer for potential suicide?"

"That would be me, Foster," A deeper, richer voice proclaimed with a crisp country drawl.

My eyes shifted from the darker-skinned man to the shorter, younger one. Quickly, my eyes adverted back to Fury, "You've gotta be kidding me! He's barely suitable for gun training!"

"Despite what you think, he's actually beneficial toward your research in both cases. He comes from a science background."

I could not contain the hysterical laugh working in my throat. "Yeah? What field?"

"Biology," Logan Kurtz chimed in with an arrogant flourish.

I cocked my head back not only for dramatic fashion, "Fury, I don't want him."

"That's unfortunate."

"So that's it? I don't have any say in this? This is why I'm so adamantly against SHIELD."

Nick chuckled. "There is maybe a way out of this, actually."

"Name it! Anything is better than this arrangement," I quipped.

Fury's features suddenly became stern, hard. "Tell us what the hell went on with you, Thor, and Loki in wherever it was he died and in London. Give me the information I need, and I'll give you what you need."

"Except that. I won't be bought with such a cheap offer. You know I won't mention those details for you to store and corrupt for future use."

Nick actually snorted, flushed with impatience, "Damnit, why would you of all people protect _him_?"

I stomped my foot against the tile floor, creating a soft echo throughout the space, "I'm not protecting him because I want to. Believe me."

"Your loyalties are always somewhat inconvenient to me, Dr. Foster."

The pace of my heart shot up into rapid bursts. I instantly drew closer to Fury and remaining true to my words, I slowly spat, "Don't mistake this as loyalty, Fury. I'm hardly loyal to anything other than science, Darcy and Erik, Thor, and my values. There is no reason to misread this in any way."

"Just get to work. The less I have to deal with the better with you," was all he would say to me before stalking out of the lab altogether.

"He doesn't like you very much," Kurtz snidely remarked as he turned his attention back to me.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't have time for this," I murmured to myself, still loud enough for him to hear. Sighing, I frowned, "He's kept me away from things I needed to see for myself."

"Care to expand? I don't wish for unnecessary guessing games. I don't know you, nor do I care to," he irritably ordered.

My left eye twitched. I closed my eyes briefly before lifting my brows. Opening my eyes, I use a pitch unfamiliar to my vocal chords to emphasize, "Then why don't you be useful: find some corner and shut the hell up?" I turned my back to him to continue with my work, but only after maybe a minute, I clicked my tongue and moved to where he stood, "Why are you here? You don't like me."

"Because I find you massively irritating."

My gloved hands cradled my temples as I whined, "You're insane!"

"From your own words, as are you, Foster."

My hands balled and settled on either of my hips, "That's _Dr._ Foster to you."

"Just _Foster_, woman."

I wanted to slap him. I wanted to punch him. I physically had to remove myself from a short radius from his position in order to prevent me from doing either options. Overwhelmed with anger, I turned around and went back to the operation table that splayed many of my personal documents retrieved by SHIELD for me to conduct this.

"Stay out of my way."

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

_**REVIEWS**_ are simply marvelous. Thank you. (:

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	3. Wanna Know About the Deal I'm Making?

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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Adjusting the lab coat over my shoulders, I continued to walk down the long hallway to the laboratory given for my cause. I begrudgingly rounded the corner and paused just outside the sliding metal door. Within, Logan Kurtz sat along the bench reading a book.

His legs were extended in an elegant fashion; meanwhile, he waited there intent on only the pages splayed before his hazel eyes. I took time to notice the short chestnut hair otherwise covered by his helmet. It looked rough, but it was indeed well kept. I raised my brow and shook my head simultaneously. I didn't have time for examining his form.

Lifting my arms out in front of me, I tightened either glove over my hands. The previous day, I'd managed to find thinner black gloves from the old style of infantry uniforms from SHIELD. I'd been relieve to take the gaudy green pair off, discarding them in my room last night. Now I would have more room to maneuver my fingers.

I stepped in the threshold, pressing the button to seal the door tightly closed. Reaching up, I pulled the drawstring blinds down for privacy. My attention turned to the empty table. "Where did my notes go?"

"A few men came here during the night while you were otherwise detained," Kurtz eventually answered, his tone monotonous.

I threw my bag onto the table and sighed, "Can't you simply say 'when I was sleeping?' Honestly, why are you even here this early? It's 4:00 in the morning."

"My eloquence has never been scrutinized as much as now. And I never left. My quarters are all the way on the other side of the deck. I didn't bother wasting time traversing my way down there. By the way, do you not care about your stolen notes?"

I shrugged, deciding to hold my thoughts together. I wasn't up for another round of bickering or anything similar from the past three days. "Kurtz, although you believe me to be an imbecile, those notes were decoy: fakes. I don't want them to know what I'm finding. I've actually hit a lead, though, which reminds me..."

"Of?" he rudely replied.

I snatched a clipboard from my satchel and shoved it toward him, "Read this and sign it. You're a liability, and I need to have confidence that you won't be stealing or sending out word of what occurs here." My eyes adverted down at the white paper. "Go on."

His eyes never once left his book. "I would rather not."

My eyes quivered, "I would rather you did."

He sighed. "Not going to," he sang.

I stomped my foot roughly against the tile floor, "Just do it!"

Still not phased from looking away from him book, Kurtz repeated a firm, "No."

"Why not?" I whined, typical of me being frustrated, unfortunately.

"I do not feel apt to do so, nor do I see the point," he lowly told her.

By now, my nerves were racing from my toes to my head. "What _are_ you reading?"

With a loud _thump_, Logan closed the book and turned to read the title, "_Norse Mythology &amp; Other Mysteries._"_  
_

My heart stopped. "What?" I shouted as I crouched over him to snatch the book away from him.

He seemed to be much more agile than I was because he'd already stood up. "I do believe you heard me the first time. I procured this text from the room last night as you left it to return to your quarters."

"That's a piece of my personal research! Give that back to me!"

"First, indulge me on why the only section you have notes in pertains to the author refers to 'The God of Mischief'?"

I drew my head back and straightened, "You can't tell me that I must tell you anything! You stole the book in the first place!"

"I do not see how that is my problem."

My eyes closed, and I fixed myself to stand tall again. My throat began to close in on itself, causing my voice to crack, "I can't tell you anything, okay? Although nothing in that book is barely above common knowledge, I have to have that book back. That's private, and I can't believe you're being this cruel. Just give it back."

For a moment, he simply allowed his hues to linger over mine. Observing me through short, thick lashes, no emotion could be detected. I stared up at him and saw that he truly wasn't that much taller than I was. I stood just above five feet and three inches. He must have been at most five feet and seven inches.

"You're false dramatics shall not sway me, Foster," he playfully uttered in their silence.

Caught off guard, I shook my head and fixed my eyes back over his. With every ember in hell, my eyes lit up, "Why won't you give me the book?"

His lips were torn with a snide smile that unnerved me. With his features aligning, he appeared to me as rather mad, sadistic. I fought the urge to become uncomfortable, though. "You don't believe the tales in the book do you?"

I grabbed my coat and tightened it over my body; my arms slackened against my chest as they folded over each other, "They're hard to believe already without having met most of those who are mentioned."

"You claim to know this mischief maker?"

I slowly shook my head, "I don't think anyone ever did."

"I can help you, you know? I don't just have to sit here aimlessly day in and day out."

I pressed my lips together so they would form a thin line across my face. Shortly after, I responded, "People tend to get killed when they help me."

"Ah!" he animately replied, his eyes bright with a hidden mischief, "Is that why you withhold information about him?"

"What can I do? I was sworn to secrecy by Thor's request!"

"So," he began, "do you always do as Thor wishes?"

I held my breath for a moment. As I released it, I answered, "No. Thor's influence over my silence is small."

"Indulge my curiosity if you will."

Moving over the large operation table, I kept my back to him. Instead of replying, I simply began to unload my stack of unorganized papers from my bag. Spreading them out, I sighed. "I'm getting back to work."

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"Jane, you came," Thor commented, surprise lingering in his eyes.

I glanced down at my covered hands, and I felt the corners of my mouth droop. My brows drew in, creating worry lines in my forehead, "I almost didn't."

He caught my attention when he extended his hand toward me. I glanced at it and met his sad gaze, "Take it. You'll not harm me when you're skin is bound." Lamely, he smiled sweetly.

It had always been one of my favorite things about him: his smile. His wondrous blue eyes absorbed mine as I moved closer to him, hesitantly placing my hand in his lightly. "It hurts that I can't touch you anymore."

He maneuvered his hand so that the top of my hand was exposed, bringing it to his lips as he bent over slightly, "Nothing will stop me from being with you, Jane."

"What good am I without the prospect of intimacy, Thor? Beyond that, how will this work?"

He leaned over the rail and searched the delicate setting sun, the oranges distorting the blue in his eyes to make them appear brighter. For a brief moment, I privately admired him.

He cleared his throat. "Your company alone is enough to satisfy me, Jane."

I lifted my hand and settled it on his cheek, bringing his eyes back to my own, "Answer this question. I won't be mad, since the circumstances were a bit messy. But did you...you know...with anyone while we were apart?"

I could tell the inquiry threw him off guard. His grip over my hand tightened. I already knew the answer, but he replied vulnerably, "Yes. I didn't ever think I would gain another chance to see you again, so I tried to push forward with my new life in Asgard...without you."

"I tried dating...being, rather...I always forget that you're not accustomed to my jargon...anyway. I tried dating other men, too. But never once did I sleep with anyone. Then, there was only you in my heart. And I realize that this isn't fair because of who you are," I explained.

Seeing that he was about to interject, I moved my hand from his cheek to his lips, "I was referring to you being so different from me as a human being. I am given maybe a hundred years to , you'll look at me and I'll be aged like your father. Will you desire me then? And what happens if we can't ever be intimate. It's so important for me to share that with the one I'm sharing my life with."

"You mean..?"

I nodded bashfully. "I've never had anyone in my life. I studied and graduated at the top of my class with both of my degrees. I've always been focused on what other people wanted me to do that I never had the opportunity for anything I wanted. It used to break me thinking that I'll leave you behind when I die."

His head drew back, "Used to?"

I bit my lip, "I've accepted it. I have. It's still hard, though." Tears clouded my eyes. Closing my heavy lids, they slipped through the crack, sliding delicately down my face. My shoulders rocked up and down as my body shook gently. My hand left his face to wipe them away. "And then I think about how I would ever be with you at all."

Thor grabbed my wrists and kept them captive, "I do not understand, Jane."

"Loki was right all along. A hundred years is such a short fragment of time. Is the pain you'll feel when I die worth being with me at all?"

He swallowed, but held my gaze passionately. One of his hands released my wrist to cradle my face, "No, Jane. You must not think of his words! I need you standing behind me. I cannot be without you. Do not say such things."

I shook my head hopelessly. Giving into the urge to touch him, I settled for pushing my forehead against his. My eyes searched his, and he brought his mouth to mine gently. I returned the kiss, discrediting the potential hazard in doing so. My mouth moved obediently with his. More tears fell from my eyes. Giving in entirely, I moved onto my toes to accommodate the height difference.

Just before our mouths opened to each other, though, I pulled away, "You can't ask me to stand behind you for the rest of my life. I cannot be cast in a shadow."

I saw his expression change, his features tightening. "A shadow, you say?"

"I don't want to be protected, Thor. I also need to protect. I just feel that you don't get that completely."

Thor withdrew his hands despite my reaching for him. As my hands tried to cling onto him, he moved away from me. His eyes flared and his nostrils enlarged as his breathing simmered to the burning temperature of thunder. "Do not ever say that of me again, Jane."

My eyes dropped more tears as I moved closer to him, "Stop being stubborn, and see the truth! Don't even try to discredit me for genuinely feeling this way!"

He threw his hand out before me, stopping me from reaching him, "It is only those words I do not wish to ever be spoke to me again, Jane."

I paused, narrowing my lids and moving my eyes back and forth, trying to best interpret the usage of "again."

"What do you mean, 'again'? I've never told you this."

He faced the railing and moved his strong hands over the metal, clutching it tightly, "Who else would say something as cruel?"

"Thor, I'm not trying to be cruel!" I frustratingly pointed out. Suddenly, my mouth shut, realizing in an instant, "Wait, you're talking about Loki?"

He moved his head toward me, finally returning my broken stare. He only nodded. Tentatively, I stepped closer to him, ensuring that he was okay with my proximity. "Oh, Thor. I'm so sorry. You know I wouldn't say that had I already known."

Thor only offered me a small, reluctant smirk. "I know that." His eyes closed and released a long breath, "I miss him dearly. I miss my mother tremendously. I'm struggling with these vengeful thoughts in my head."

I stood there fidgeting, my shoulders shrugging. "I feel responsible for everything. Had I not been stupid and investigated that day, then everything would be fine." I retreated from him ever so slightly, my eyes stinging from the tears still raging. My covered hand moved over my mouth as I stood there feeling absolutely alone. "If you hadn't ever met me, so many people would be alive. Sometimes I wonder why I'm even alive."

He instantly pulled me into his hard arms, "Jane, you must understand that my brother was wasting away in his cell. Until you gave him the opportunity to sneak away, I think he was in much worse place than death."

I glanced up at him through disfigured vision, "You're saying that he is in a better place?"

He shook his head, "I only say that perhaps death is a kinder solution for him to exist."

Biting my lip, "I'm not so sure, Thor."

He lifted my head to steal my attention again, "Promise me that you'll stay with me until we are torn apart by death. I cannot lose you, too."

Regardless of desperately trying to repeat those words and mean them, I simply wrapped my arms around him tightly. My eyes closed and quickly opened again. I glanced up at the colorful sky, "I'm here, Thor." Adverting my eyes straight back into the small hallway within, I noticed Kurtz watching us with a peculiar mysteriousness. Moving my hands over Thor's back, I lowered my chin and reassured, "I'm here."

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

Your kind reviews made me write this chapter only thirteen hours after posting the second! It's a tad longer than the previous two, so enjoy! _**REVIEWS**_ are awesome! :D

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	4. I Hear My People Screaming Out

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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My fingers jabbed the keyboard roughly, the insignificant sound echoing into the corners of the small, square room. I sat in the uncomfortable metal chair and aimlessly searched through the archive of deceased members of SHIELD. My dark eyes scanned through the many faces of the past without trying to sift through their records.

That was not my purpose here. I was no spy.

I simply needed clearance to areas of the helicarrier I was normally unable to go to. The low, dim light of the monitor before me provided little light to the thick blackness absorbing the tiny space. Nearly giving up, I sighed, my hands pausing briefly. "There has to be someone that looks remotely like I do. For Pete's sake, I have brown hair and brown eyes. If that doesn't say boring..."

"Whom is Pete?" a masculine voice drawled directly beside my left ear.

My heart raced through my ears and I turned around, the chair spinning with the force and pull of my body. I shrieked quietly before seeing Kurtz. My brows knitted close together, "What in the world are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Logan moved his features to appear smug. Even in the low light I could see the arrogance shine almost brighter than the monitor. "No one frequents this room at this hour. You can never truly be too careful."

"In other words, you followed me."

"Not in such tedious terms," he curtly denied. He met my thunderous glare with such intensity; yet, he did not reveal the thoughts going behind his hazel hues.

I lowered my gaze and turned the chair to face the monitor again. I busied myself by tapping the right arrow key, resuming the search. I hunched over and leaned my jaw on my palm. Sighing, I closed my eyes.

"Just how did you gain access to this room?"

Without moving to face him, I opened my eyes and lifted my index finger to quickly stab the arrow key once more. "There's a profound reason why Nick Fury dislikes me as strongly as he does. When the events in New York were going on, Fury ordered me to stay 'protected' at a secure location in the Alps. He allegedly wanted me out of Loki's way," I answered dully as I turned to face him.

"It's not hard to bypass a few minor passcodes: especially when you're as observant as I am. I broke out of my cell several times, despite the levels of security they kept me under. People don't quite realize how capable I am."

"Yes," he replied lamely, "but you did not answer my question. How were you 'capable' to gain clearance to this room?"

I laughed as I continued to move through the records of people again. "I followed your lead. All I had to do was watch the men in charge of this room enter the codes I needed to get in."

He placed his hand on my shoulder and turned the chair. He placed his hands on the armrests on either side of it, "I do not watch you."

I straightened, "Care to explain why you were standing only a few paces away from me and Thor a few days ago, then?"

He narrowed his eyes, "Is that what this is about?"

Pointedly, I retorted, "Yes."

"You may think you comprehend my actions, but trust me, I do not have the time to watch your every move. What an arrogant notion you believe!"

My face crafted itself to fit a pronounced smugness, "Why are so defensive?"

Ignoring the statement entirely, he narrowed his eyes even more, but held my gaze. Refusing to back down, my eyes never left his. He inhaled and shifted his legs so that one knee bent. The noise from the computer fans in the room drowned out as I threw the same intensity back into his stare.

My mouth pursed with indignation. His resilience loomed over me from where I sat, trapped between his strong arms. Emotion veiled beyond those light eyes, my patience wore thin as I continued to glare up to him. Present in his lifting brow, he seemed to provoke an uneasy frustration within me. There was a fire brewing under my heart as he drew closer.

"I've never wanted to hurt anyone as much as you wish I could hurt you," I admitted randomly, unaware of where exactly the information had came from.

For the first time, he smiled down at me. Somehow his eyes captured the absurdity of the statement. "Foster, I have never harmed you."

Determined, I thinned my mouth before saying, "No, but you always have something snarky to say. And you always talk down to me: as if you've always resented me despite only knowing me for about a week and a half. There's something familiar about you, but I can't figure it out."

He lowered his head, but his eyes remained where they were, creating an unsettling madness over his face, "And that bothers you."

"Clearly," I conceded.

He left about a moment's silence sneak over us. His features were menacing, yet vacant. "What is your purpose here, Jane?"

"It bothers you that you can't figure me out completely."

Holding his tongue, he simply raised his head peculiarly and observed me. Finally, he quickly snapped his gaze over the monitor. I followed his eyes as they read the information about the current woman on the screen. As his attention still lingered over the lit screen, I pulled my eyes to watch him intently. The fleeting light from the computer touched his face, glowing radiantly in the darkness.

Only his right eye narrowed, as if he was just as irritable as I was. Reluctantly, he met my eyes again. "Clearly," he absently replied. With his bare hand, he reached for my chin in a grasp I found hard to pull away from. His hold was not painful; rather, I found myself intrigued by the sudden contact. Bewitched by curiosity, I forgot about everything except the man before me. I had to know more about him.

"I'm here to create a badge, so I can access areas that I otherwise could not. I don't think it would be wise to make a badge of someone who can possibly be on board this helicarrier. That's detectable. I have a greater chance of going unnoticed if I use someone already dead. It would buy me more time," I informed him.

He drew his head back. "Why the sudden release of information?"

I thought about his inquiry for only a second before I responded, "Because I need you...your help. You have an invaluable skill for sneaking around. I'm not as graceful as you are."

Logan took a minute to search my face for any traces of falsehood. I supposed he did not find any, as he closed his eyes and chuckled. "Are you really requesting my assistance?"

I only nodded.

"Why?" he hissed.

Boldly, I confided, "Because I think you need mine. I honestly don't know why I think this, but why else would you request to guard me? Why else would you constantly seek me out? You're also a mystery to me, Logan. There's a part of me willing to put aside our differences in order to figure you out."

"What if there's nothing for you to figure out?" he absently spoke, appearing lost in his thoughts. Shaking his head a bit, he righted his expression to once again be unreadable, "What if you indeed discover what you need, and it's something you'd be better off not knowing?"

"What do you want to know about me that you can't figure out?" I inquired, decided it was best to ignore his question for now.

He was obviously hesitant to answer me, too. His silence confirmed that theory. I took a moment to glance at his chest, noticing he'd matched the quick speed of my lungs. He captured my attention once again by abruptly breaking his silence. "Why is it that you focus on the Norse god, Loki?"

Tilting my head slightly, I widened my eyes. I looked away. I blinked once, twice, thrice. Time seemed the lull past me, lazily moving on without me. The subject of Loki should have been a topic of unbreakable confidentiality; however, I found myself in need of breaking that vow to Thor and to myself.

"He was nothing like I'd expected him to be," I began, slowly bringing my eyes against his , I continued, "I had a lot of preconceived notions about him. Beyond that, I and a few others needed his help."

Somehow sensing my reluctance to say anything further, he asked, "You required his help for what?"

Shaking my head, I decided to share, "We needed to get out of Asgard. Something awful happened because of me...because I found the Aether. The Aether is something quite powerful, like the Tesseract. I don't fully understand it still, but it claimed my body to be its host. It would have killed me had it not been removed, so we needed to get it out of me.

"What happened in London...it was a part of what Asgard has recorded as a Convergence. It's recurring, and people tried to destroy the universe. Anyway, when the Aether was taken out of me, there was a moment. Just one instant, really. And in that fraction of time, Loki saved my life. He could have died, but was saved," I finished slowly. As he moved his mouth to speak, I quickly asked, "How is he so bad if he saved my life?"

"Why does it matter if he is good or bad?" he questioned suddenly.

Kurtz's inquiry caught me off-guard, my brain shutting itself down quickly. It was a question I hadn't asked myself. And I hadn't been prepared for it. He moved his hand away from my chin, and I moved my hand from my lab to his elbow. My covered fingers gripped his muscles tightly. My eyes moved from the left to the right, searching his intently.

He stilled under my touch. Perhaps he was nervous because of the affect my touch had over people. He knew that it was I that injured Bruce Banner. Or perhaps he was just unaccustomed to people touching him. "Do you want the truth?"

Kurtz froze. His posture uncharacteristically slackened. Logan nodded exquisitely slowly, "Most ardently."

"I believe he's neither good, nor bad. From my experience, I think he's misguided; however, I'd argue Odin is, too. While I am unsure of my relationship with him, Thor truly is the only one left to stand up against threats. Because of me."

Plainly, he shook his head, "I do not understand."

"Because I had the Aether at all, I killed his mother and Loki. I was the reason! What does that make me? Glorified or malicious?"

Quickly, emotion flooded his eyes. His mouth opened slightly, and his nose relaxed. Watery, glossy tears veiled over his wide eyes. I couldn't understand what he was thinking even though he was wearing his usually cloaked emotions on his sleeve. I glanced away, feeling uncomfortable and a little invasive simply staring at him in that moment.

My throat tightened as my memories gnawed through the reinforced walls I'd built in my brain. Flooding my mind, I closed my eyes to try to shield them away, though the effort went unsuccessful. Suddenly, his muscles tightened under my hand, which pried my away from my thoughts. My eyes flashed back over his.

"J-just what are you saying?" he uttered in the thick quiet.

Under my eyes, his features tightened again. I found myself somewhat disappointed. "What do you want me to say?"

"Have you pledged some sort of loyalty to him?"

Unable to form words, I just shook my head twice. I swallowed and my throat felt tight. Blinking softly, I calmed myself down a bit, "No, but how can I pass judgement over someone I can't ever know? He must have had some sort of legacy: be that me by saving my life, or by dying. I don't understand it, and it's tearing my brain apart."

"You respect him?" he interrupted coldly.

My lips thinned again, but I answered, "Yes, I suppose I do."

Abruptly, he recoiled and turned his body away from me. Moving toward the other chair in the small room, he grabbed it and sat gracefully five feet away from where I still sat. Confused, I awkwardly turned back toward the computer monitor. My finger itched toward the arrow key. After about five more presses, I found someone who was a near perfect match to my looks.

The woman's name was Renee Talgart. She was an officer stationed to the same helicarrier. The cause of death read: "Officer Talgart was killed in combat. She bravely defended her comrades against Loki's attack, and sacrificed herself in order to save ten of her peers."

I nearly cried at the irony. Quickly, I moved over to the other computer and dragged the information over. Typing a few commands to get to the right program, I requested a name tag of Miss Renee Talgart. The machine over by the door began to stir, eventually smelling like burning plastic. I scurried over to the machine and claimed my new badge, staring down at her photo and badge ID number.

"Done," I murmured as I quietly opened the door. Without turning to wait for Kurtz, I hurried down the busy hallway back to my private room.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

This chapter wrote itself. By far, this is my favorite written chapter of any of my stories. I'm really having fun with this one! Please _**review**_! Your kind words give me inspiration to update quickly, obviously! Three updates within a week! :D Can you believe it?

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	5. A Stand to Escape What's Inside Me

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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The fine point of the pen I clutched needlessly bounced against the spiral beneath my wrist. Aimlessly, I sighed.

My brown eyes grazed over the bright blue-inked markings over the white page. The structure of the text written in my handwriting haunted my curiosities. Biting my lower lip coyly, I glanced over to Thor. Such symbols were in no way human; and, after last night's dream, I wasn't in any position to believe that they could be.

As if sensing my stare, the Asgardian prince glanced up and sweetly smiled. Uneasy, I simply nodded without so much as lifting the corners of my mouth. He moved away from the table where the Avengers discussed numerous details of their adventures since New York. Making his way toward me, I straightened myself in the large chair set away from the larger table in the center of the meeting room.

"What could possibly be troubling you, Jane?"

I sighed. "I was hoping to see if you could recognize something?"

"You have to all but ask for my help," he happily said, despite his attention lingering over my sullen features.

I stood up and gazed over by the door, "Can we go somewhere else?"

Nodding, he held out his arm as I clutched the notebook closely to my chest. He fell into step beside me as I kept pointing the direction of where it was I intended to guide him. Neither of us made much conversation on the way to my private room.

Entering as I punched in the code, I waved to Logan, "Hello. Thank you for making it."

Suddenly, Thor rushed before me and extended his arm out in front of me, "Jane, how does he have access to enter your chambers?"

Lifting a brow at Thor's irritating, yet familiar behavior, I moved to the small dining table in the corner of the room, slapping the spiral on it carelessly. Grabbing the bottom of the light table, I dragged it out so that it was in the center of the room underneath the light.

My index finger pointed at the text lying upon the page, "That's not important right now. Thor, I was hoping you could translate this."

Instantly, he seized the spiral from the table and held it level to his shoulders, staring perplexedly down at the paper. His features dwindled into an unsettling coldness "Where did you get this?"

Looking around the room as if I half-expected the walls to help me, I stammered, "Uh, well, I had this dream last night. It was pretty...well, it wasn't pretty, but rather creepy. I saw so many things I have no way of explaining. But I have a theory of what may be happening."

Thor gave me all of his undivided attention, "Would you care to explain?"

"Someone out there is trying to contact me. Problem is I have no way of knowing who."

"You are right to assume such, Jane. Are these your markings?" Thor hesitantly questioned.

"Yes, but can you please just tell me what it says? The suspense is killing me."

Thor glanced back down at the paper and studied it for a moment before briefly mentioning, "The words detail that you and the rest of the world will perish: starting with this vessel."

Sarcastically, I added, "Oh, perfect."

"Jane, I ask you this because I feel I must; what have you been doing down in that laboratory?" Thor uncharacteristically interrogated.

Defensively, I irrationally said, "That's _my_ business!"

Thor threw down the spiral as my brows knit close together at the center of my face, "Jane, you may be placing us all in a similar danger as bringing Loki on here did."

I balled my fists and jammed them against my hips roughly, "Newsflash: no matter where I go, I will attract danger. It's a nasty habit I've had since I was a child! Only now, I have my hands to worry about!"

"Just tell me what is going on!"

"No," I pointedly articulated, "I will not."

His mouth opened and shortly after, it closed once more. After a few gathering seconds, he closed his heavy lids, as if seeking every fiber of patience within himself. "Jane, I must protect you. I only have you and father left."

A violent wave of anger thrashed through my veins, melting through the patience I still had left quickly. My hands released from the tight coils quickly, "Thor! When will you realize that I can't be protected?" Abruptly, my voice withered back in its fiery pitch, quieting, "No matter the case, I'm someone who attracts all of danger in any of the realms.

"Wherever I am, wherever I go, and wherever I was, danger will always be right there with me. And there is _nothing_ you or Odin can do about that. Beyond that, I've explained this to you in as basic of jargon as I can manage. I do not need to be protected. Before I ran you with my car, I was managing just fine."

Thor rushed over toward me and reached for my shoulders, "That was before I managed to involve you in many new areas of your universe."

"And that's not your fault, nor is it something you should feel guilty about. I made my choice to have you in my life. You can't harvest everyone's choices as your fault. That's destructive, Thor. Believe me," I explained, my hand moving over my heart.

Thor straightened with every shred of dignity he was capable of possessing, "I will not abandon you."

I shook my head and moved my fingers to my temples. My attention shifted to Logan, patiently lingering over toward the window. I released my breath that had been trapped in my lungs, "This isn't the time or place to talk about this, Thor."

"I should inquire the reasoning behind why he is even in here!"

"Not that again!" I managed to blurt out, "Listen, Logan Kurtz is as invaluable to me as I am to him. We had our differences at first, but we've somehow managed to sort them out for the time being."

"Jane, what is going on? Ever since we expelled the Aether from your body, you've become rather different than you were before. Tell me what is going on so that I may help you," the Aesir pleaded with heavy features.

Deciding it best to hold my tongue, I told him, "I'm sorry. I can't do that. You may as well just go alert Fury about this threat."

"What information do I have about this, Jane? Your silence will kill many innocent people's lives!" the god of thunder reasoned, his eyes vicious.

I froze at the words. I hadn't expected his to say something so harsh, yet entirely true. It was possible that I would hurt countless others before long. I quickly reformed my vulnerable expression to a more cold, distant one, feeling the unnatural movement over my face. Reasoning with myself, I closed my eyes and lowered my head ever so slightly as if I was nodding once.

In that moment, I decided my fate. As my brain devised a strategy, my voice uttered, "So be it."

"Jane?"

Forcefully, I commanded, "Just go."

And with only a moment's glance toward me passing us, he left in a hurry. As the metal sliding door roughly slammed shut, I released a heavy breath. My hands moved to fold over each other across my chest. I paced back and forth in the awkward silence.

Abruptly, a masculine, thick voice cut through the quiet, "What exactly are you thinking of now?"

Continuing my erratic movement through the smaller room, I brought my left hand to my chin, fingers gently rubbing the skin there absently. "I need to get off of this ship."

He laughed, "And how would that be minutely possible? In under an hour this carrier will be on lockdown because of your so-called alert."

Instantly, I halted and shoved myself before him, "Don't you see? That 'alert' was only a decoy. When I was in Asgard, I took it upon myself to study the way they wrote things. I'm not perfect, but those words were written in a book read to me by Odin when we first discovered the Aether was within me. I'm very observant, and I have an impeccable memory. I'm surprised he was even able to coherently read it to be honest."

"I find all of this rather hard to believe," he spectated.

Impatiently, I lifted my hands to move against either side of his head, bringing it down to try to get him to listen without adding his snarky remarks every now and then. His eyes moved into a wide ovular shape upon realizing our proximity, but he did nothing to move away, so I continued, "Last night, I had my gloves off because they can get rather uncomfortable. I went to water the plant in the corner of the room over there. My bare hands touched different leaves as I did so, and I ended up draining the life right out of it. This isn't something I can find out in a lab. I have to stay away from people as best as possible right now: until I can learn to control this."

My eyes scanned his briefly, and I nervously pulled back. Clearing my throat, I stood silent to wait for his reply. As he kept the proximity between us, he gazed down at me heavily, causing me to wonder what he was thinking about, "You do gather that I am indeed human, correct? I have no possession of extraterrestrial powers."

"Right," I began, "what's your point?"

"I can only assume you are implying that I need to go with you. You also ask me to abandon my duty to SHIELD, too. Right?" he skeptically questioned.

I shook my head. The thought had occurred to me; however, I wasn't planning on asking him. It wouldn't be fair. "I wouldn't ask that of you. I will find ways to manage on my own. I was just wanting to say goodbye," I reasoned impulsively.

"Just a few nights ago, it was your every intention to stay and find out what SHIELD has to offer you. Why the sudden change?"

I bit my lip. "Well, I had a dream."

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, but what sort of dream?"

"A bad one."

Quickly, he lost his patience and grabbed me by my arms, pulling me closer, "I gathered, Jane. Explain what the dream was about."

I swallowed. He hadn't ever been so demanding of me prior to this moment. I gathered the words to say, "If you look at the last page in the spiral, you'll see a sketch of someone who isn't of this world."

His head tilted curiously toward the table, his strength depleting over his hold on me. Slowly, he walked toward the table and plucked it into his hands, pages of the notebook easing toward the front. Finally, the last page revealed itself to him. "What is this?" he questioned without glancing back at me. His voice had grown distant. His shoulders tightened, straightening uncharacteristically. I noticed his body shaking.

My feet brought me closer to him until I stared vacantly down at the paper. Eventually, I answered, "His name, as he revealed to me finally last night, is Thanos. He's somehow connected himself to my subconsciousness. He's been in my dreams for a while. At first, I would only see his face. Then, I see images of...people. I receive memories that aren't mine. I hear voices that can't be in existence.

"He's somehow connected to Loki, Kurtz. I know it. My guess would be that he supplied him with the Chitauri. It's only fragments of conversations, but I've heard him say the word, 'Chitauri' in my dreams a few weeks ago. It all makes sense. And yet, it doesn't. Why would he be contacting me? Is there something still unfinished that Loki was supposed to accomplish but never did? I have so many questions with no one to answer them."

He swallowed hesitantly, and he shifted his eyes down to look at me intently, "How is it that you can manage to find trouble so tremendously than I can?"

I stepped back and raised a brow, "What does that mean?"

Catching his breath quickly, he moved his eyes back down at the drawing, "Absolutely nothing, Jane. Now, let's try to see if we cannot get off this carrier before it is shut down."

I felt my eyes light up, "Really? So you're coming with me?"

Distracted, he turned away from me and moved to the door, "Yes, but I'm going to retrieve a few things before we head out. Get out of here and meet me on the bridge in ten minutes. If you stay here, then you risk being placed in captivity. Keep moving and don't stay in one place. Stay mobile, and you'll likely avoid getting caught."

The door closed after him and my smile faded. This was really going to happen. My belly sank to my knees.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

I'm glad that all of you are enjoying this story so far! Things are about to get very intense, so keep your hands, feet, and objects in the vehicle at all times! :D

**REVIEW**, please?

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	6. A Man with a Candle to Guide Me

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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_Chapter Title:_ A Man with a Candle to Guide Me__

A lightly packed brown satchel hung across my chest, bouncing off of the back of my thigh as I scurried down the halls. I leaned against a corner and paused, pulling my hood over my head. My eyes scanned both halls for anyone approaching, but I was safe: for now. I looked down at my concealed hands by the thick black fabric and bit my lips.

I was nervous about leaving this place. I hadn't felt a special tie to the helicarrier, but it was certainly the safest place on earth for me. With someone in the universe threatening my future and humanity convinced I'd been taken over by Loki, there was no safe place for me on my own planet. The thought was frightening, but as I swallowed down my bitter fear, I seemed to think more rationally.

I needed to get up to the bridge in less than three minutes, but the elevator had been blockaded by a mess of four guards. Smashing my lips together, I opened my jean jacket, revealing the whispering glimmer of the long knife housed in a pocket within the garment.

I had no reason to explain why I still claimed the blade as my own. If anyone should have had it, that person was Thor. I'd been out of line when I plucked it from Loki's corpse. In that moment back on Svartalfheim, I'd panicked somewhat; I'd thought about there potentially being a reason for me to defend myself. Illogically, I snagged the sharp blade from the dead prince of Asgard.

My eyes closed as images filled my brain for a split second. I'd been so happy to see Asgard for myself. The architecture did not match the majesty I'd crafted in my imagination: it far surpassed every expectation. The power and gentle colors thrown all around the palace had given me a reason to pause in my steps. And then Frigga had perished on my behalf.

And everything had changed.

In retrospect, I realized how foolish I was for believing Thor's reassurances. He'd lulled me to sleep on multiple accounts with the guarantee that everything would be fine. Losing Frigga hadn't been fine. It was devastating. I'd only ever had three conversation with the queen, but I still knew what a marvelous woman she was.

I stilled when I felt a bead of moisture trailing down my cheek. My eyes flew open, and I lowered my head, turning it to the wall to conceal my face from no one in particular. Absently, I wiped away the stray tear, my features turning blank. Steadying my throat, I calmed myself down.

Now was certainly not the time for self-reflection. For me, that was dangerous.

I pursed my lips out and looked over my shoulder, "What do I do now?"

A hand caught my upper arm, "Follow me." A rough, thick, and heavy voice cooed from my right.

I gasped, turning my eyes to meet familiar hazel hues. Breathing a sigh of relief, I drew closer to the man standing close to me, "I'm sorry. I know we were supposed to meet, but all of the elevators I know about are blockaded by guards. I didn't know where to go. How'd you find me?"

"I know, the bridge is swarmed with SHIELD infantry. They guard what we need: a plane. You are rather lucky that I did find you. I was actually on my way back from upper halls. I found a way to a small aircraft that will suffice," he informed. His lashes concealed a curiosity that nearly pleaded to surface from his shaded thoughts.

I swallowed, but nodded. "I'm ready. I'll follow you."

I kept my dark gaze steadied over him while he checked the halls, moving his head around quickly. I wondered how he was so calm when even the entire ship seemed to be in an uproar. A noise broke my concentration over him. He moved his hand over my left shoulder and continued with its movement so his hand could take hold of my wrist, "We have to move. Now."

My belly stretched tightly, coiling over my bones. What felt like after an eternity, I finally responded by nodding, words suddenly foreign to me altogether. My legs obeyed his pull. Numerous footsteps trailed off behind us further down the hall. I refused to look back. I was afraid that, if I did, I would simply cave within myself.

The tile of the floor that we trampled over echoed our position throughout the hallway system. We either had to sustain our current pace on whatever trajectory Logan had chosen, or we would be caught. I'd always been quite agile, so running for me hadn't ever been a problem. But now, I felt my legs begin to weigh me down like lead was trailing up my legs and intending on dragging me to hell.

I had no way of knowing how long we ran for. My lungs felt like acid, my breath slowly growing impossible to take. A bitter taste settled over my tongue, too. Finally, he pulled me around a corner and he shoved his hand against a button, permitting the doors to close behind us.

"We go in the smallest aircraft available," he told me as he began to walk forward, throwing my arm at me lightly. Lights were scarce in this new place, but as he spoke, there was a vacant echo carrying the unbreakable tone. "I shall prepare it, and you must stay behind me. No questions asked."

"Kay," was all I seemed to know to say.

Seeing an uncomfortable distance between me and Kurtz, I caught up to him, but he halted unexpectedly. Without time to react, I urgently moved into him, my hands clutching his arm in an attempt to stabilize my balance without much success. "Wait," he ordered abruptly.

My nerves set ablaze. "What?" I whispered.

He turned and shoved me off to his left, his head turning swiftly in all direction. He balled his left hand into a tight coil, his arm shaking. Carefully, he slipped the duffle bag from his shoulder and kneeled to the ground, gently setting the bag onto the metal floor. From within, he withdrew a large blade: not quite as large as the swords I'd seen while visiting Asgard.

I swallowed, the gravity of an unknown threat sinking into my bones. I moved my hand so that it rested over the stolen knife in my jacket. I pivoted my head to the direction of where he stared.

"Something is not right," he announced hastily. He rose from his knee and stood at my side. "If you have any weapons, I suggest that you arm yourself. If not, then stay back while I search the area."

I scoffed, "You're not going to leave me here."

Without looking over at me, he simply said, "That was the plan."

I rapidly shook my head back and forth, "You can't. _No_. There could be something here."

Finally, he slipped a quick glance toward me, his gaze dropping to my gloved hands. "Take those off. You'll need every advantage you can obtain. Have you noticed the lack of alarms and noise altogether in the vicinity?"

I hadn't actually. "Not really."

His mouth rose to fit a wide, arrogant grin over his lips, "Well, be glad that you are not alone."

My lids narrowed as I moved closer to him. I was careful not to step too loudly so not to attract any attention to us: should anyone truly be a threat. "Who do you think it is?"

He thinned his lips, "Certainly not human."

"Thor?" I hesitantly added, my voice clinging to an hope I could find.

I noticed his left eye twitch, "Definitely not an oaf either."

"What do you have against him, anyway?"

He chuckled. "That," he slowly uttered, "is certainly a curious question, scientist."

I began to smirk, light laughter trailing along my playfulness. Simultaneously, I began to pick up my pace in order to catch up with him, but a burst of vicious heat threw me back. All I could coherently make out was that I was suspended in the air, yet I descended. Eventually, a harsh pain ignited throughout my veins as I landed on something hard and cold.

I couldn't help but to cry out in pain. My vision scattered, black overpowering all color. Acid invaded my lungs, all breath impossible to draw. My back hurt, but I was still able to slowly lean up, "Kurtz?"

"_Jane?_" I heard him yell from across the large space. Smoke infiltrated the thick atmosphere of the hangar.

Unable to emit much noise above a low pitch, I replied, "I'm fine, I think."

I coughed, unable to ignore the stifling sensation of smoke against my tongue. My bones reverberated within my skin as I shifted my body to stand. I moved toward the plane so I could lean against it. "Fuck, that hurt," I cursed. I rarely ever cursed as of late, but the situation significantly called for it.

"I intend to inflict much worse on you, mortal," a deep, ghostlike voice murmured in the smokey ruin. I gasped as I turned, the sound strongest from behind me. Nothing was there, and, in that moment, I removed both gloves from my hands. Instinctively, I withdrew the knife from my jacket and held it out before me.

Threw the thick cloud of smoke, I saw a figure creeping closer to me. My chest ached, but my left arm burned. Glancing down, I saw that my light denim jacket was soaked with a darker crimson liquid, sticky and moist. Grudgingly lifting my left hand to inspect further, I saw that blood had crept down my skin, staining my fingers with the thickish substance.

Closing my eyes, I clutched the knife tightly, refusing to let it go. My eyes adjusted through the unsteady thicket of smog. "Who's there?"

A loud burst of laughter sparked from all corners of the gigantic space, echoing accordingly, "I am known by many as different aliases. How shall I only settle with revealing only one?"

I grunted in frustration, my balance faltering somewhat from the loss of blood. "Stop playing around. What's your purpose here?"

A cynical eruption of laughter once again filled the area, "Oh, mortal, my only purpose is to find _him._"

Lifting a wary brow, I retorted, "Am I supposed to know who _he_ is?"

"I have tracked him across the universe since he failed the Master. I seek only Loki, the fallen prince of nowhere," the deep voice replied.

Hearing the name, I instantly shut my mouth, "He's not here. I'm sure you could gather that he died."

Suddenly, the figure closed in on me rather hastily, revealing a man clad in an outdated tuxedo with dark hair, "Now is not the time to have a silver tongue, mortal. I'm not one to be challenge, nor the Master."

He leaned over me, towering in his form. Without much else to go, I hugged the plane as closely as physically possible. He dipped his head to nearly be leveled to mine. Narrowing my eyes, I moved my fingers that held the knife. "I'm not entirely helpless myself."

After careful study over my features, the man snidely chuckled sadistically, "You shall learn to hold those words eventually. I wonder how he died. Truly, it's such a shame he couldn't have appeased the Master first. He owed Master his death, of course."

My lips thinned quickly, "These people have nothing to do with Loki."

Wordless seconds passed over us as he straightened his spine. Eventually, he coldly added, "No, but I'm certain that you do."

All too quickly, he lifted his arm and threw me into the open space, my fingers clinging onto the blade. As I flew back a great number of yards, my body pivoted so that I landed on my left shoulder. I heard a small crack, the sound heavy in my ears. Pain seethed over me, a heavy drowning sensation lingering over my head.

Before I could move, I felt him grasp my collar as the back of his hand struck the right side of my face. I yelped as he threw me back again, my head bouncing twice against the metal wall. My skin tightened as the area began to swell. As he strode toward me with an alarming speed, I dropped the blade and held out my hand, grabbing the man's bare wrist as he started to pull me upright.

However, I felt the power invade me like a hurricane of energy, igniting my muscles and engorging my senses. In a rush, I drove my fist into his chest before my feet completely leaving the support of the floor. Unsteady, I nearly fell to my knees, but I somehow sustained a decent balance. My vision was flooded with the color of red, similar to when the Aether was still inside of me.

Unable to concentrate solely on the familiar shift of color in my vision, the man called from where he landed, which I noticed had been nearly across the whole room, "Ah, so you have bonded with it? Haha, fantastic! Killing you shall be an entertaining feat. You are no skilled warrior, but you shall prove to be a very interesting foe, indeed. I see that my business with him shall have to settle for a future date. In the meantime of while you're still living, I shall give you an alias to refer me to: The Other."

Footsteps approached the hangar from outside. There was still no other signs of Kurtz, which alarmed me; however, I saw the man vanish as the footsteps continued to draw near. In a blur, I felt the power flee from my grasp, my legs buckling in a rapid motion. The movement caused me to sway to the side, my body lying on the cold surface of the hangar.

The red disappeared completely as someone pulled me into their grasp, shouting my name loudly. Struggling for coherence, I fixed my eyes over the one holding me. The last sight I saw wasn't Thor, but Logan Kurtz. Voices flooded the background, perhaps up to seven in total. Yet, all I could hear was Kurtz. And before I completely succumbed to the enticing darkness, I felt his take me into his strong arms and begin to run somewhere.

In that moment, I felt like I was flying freely.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

I'm taking a liberty with the character of The Other. He resembled a specific person throughout his screen time, which I shall let you guess. :D This is based off of a personal theory of mine. What shall happen next? **REVIEW to find out! **Reading them inspires me to write sooner!

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	7. Say Something, I'm Giving Up on You

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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_Chapter Title: Say Something, I'm Giving Up on You_

An entire month had passed since the attack on the helicarrier. I'd woken up two weeks prior, still gathering any information about what occurred on that day. Hardly anyone desired me to know much of any concrete substance. The chair I rested in was rather uncomfortable, especially for holding a week-long vigil by the one I'd hurt's side.

My hands gripped antagonizingly at the side rail of the hospital bed the man splayed upon, his body appearing much larger than standing or sitting. Honestly, I couldn't recall the last meal I'd had. It had been days at least. The Avengers had all escaped unscathed for the most part. Only Clint Barton had left the underground facility in order to assess the damage of whatever had happened.

_Despite the recognition of my present location, my belly flipped, persecuting me to an erratic and sudden queasiness. I felt someone shove something near my face as I nearly leapt out of the white-linen bed. The sensation quickly passed as I remained upright, a steady hand on my shoulder moving up and down slowly._

_My throat tightened, causing me to choke on simply the air I inhaled. The gentle hand continued its pursuit at calming me down._ _"Easy," the somewhat familiar voice encouraged._

_When my vision settled again, I saw that my hands were covered in a pair of dull silver gloves with light metal gauntlets hugging my wrists, "Did I hurt anyone?" Quickly, I glanced up to find Agent Romanoff sitting to my right._

_Her features were undecipherable, a puzzle I couldn't quite crack. That bothered me to no end. Still, the woman simply reached for my hands after setting the bin on the tile below us. Her grasp was sorely gentle. "Jane, there was an incident, but they are in stable condition."_

_My eyes became filled with heavy, weighted tears that shed without fault. I realized that I was exhausted and that my normal emotional barriers I'd long since mastered were unreachable right now. "How many?"_

_"Just one person."_

I swallowed as the pieces of that tremendously vivid conversation popped through my mind faster than a shooting star. My hands released the sidebar of the bed as I stood, my torso leaning over the tall structure. "You're absolutely the worst bodyguard in history, you know?" I scolded the man below my watch.

Carefully, I lifted my hand, my skin bound by a metal, electric pair of gloves that were designed to control magic. The material used was a rare, malleable metal infused with some sort of green gems: perhaps a jade. As the lights touched the shiny surface of the gauntlets, a dull glimmer of green radiated from the articles. Somehow, the material was as thin as cloth, but somewhat durable from most blades and daggers.

Gently, I brushed my knuckles against his pale cheek, "You know, I will never be able to touch anyone again."

And once more, a profoundly sharp blade of loneliness pierced through my resolve. My eyes became kaleidoscopic, refracting the harsh lighting of the white room. My chest caved in on itself as I allowed a few tears to slide down my face.

_Her lack of detail angered me, pronounced me my unfiltered expression that she keenly observed. "Who?"_

_After a moment, she finally answered, "It was Agent Kurtz."_

My hand cupped the curve of his face and repositioned his head so that he was in my full brown gaze. My eyes continued brimming wildly with moisture, "Logan, I nearly killed you simply by my hand brushing against your arm. I still don't have any idea of what happened that day or how many people may have suffered and died. They won't tell me anything!" My voice had grown poisonous and violent, though no louder than a whispered hiss.

I rocked his shoulder delicately, "You have to wake up so I...Logan. What have I done? I've never liked you very much. There were times when I felt urges to actually kill you." A smile broke my uneven and exhausted face as my shoulders moved up and down, "Remember when I came into the lab, and you were reading that Norse book? I haven't ever met anyone who could challenge me the way you do. And eventually, we were...well, not quite friends, but more like allies. You were always there and you never went away no matter how much I needed you to."

My free hand wiped away the falling tears, now multiplying in number as I spoke, "Well, I don't want you to go away anymore. I need you to wake up. _Please__?_"

_"What were you doing with him in that hangar in the first place?" the red-headed agent questioned._

_"I was running away. I staged that warning from my memory during the time I was on Asgard. I wanted to get away from everyone so I wouldn't hurt anyone," I bluntly told her, unused to confiding in another person as quickly. It caught me off-guard._

_Her brows scrunched together, "Then explain to me why someone was in that Hangar and destroyed the helicarrier."_

_All thoughts vanished from my brain. My body froze, "What?"_

My abdomen consistently collided with the high railing on the side of the bed, so I took a moment to fidget with the device, circling it down and taking a seat on the bed next to Kurtz's body. I leaned over and folded my arm as I continued with the motion, my elbow resting at his stomach and my hand resting on his hard chest, "I don't know how to defend myself. I don't know how to directly kill anything, either. I can't even protect the people around me. I'm a monster, and I'm so frightened by what's inside me. There's no one who would begin to understand me. And I'm afraid of myself."

Slowly, my other arm extended so my hand brushed his thick, light-shaded hair. Desperately, I began to weep, uncontrollable and quiet. Suddenly, I become irrationally enraged, "Why aren't you waking up? You said you had volunteered for watching me! So stop laying there and wake up!"

As I inhaled, my chest stuttered, causing my breathing to be unsteady. My ribcage expanded and contracted rigorously, painfully. I felt my hands start to ache, as if they longed for something to destroy. Defensively, I coiled my hands hard, the material covering my skin tightening over it. Quickly, I shoved myself away from Kurtz and spun around toward the closed door.

My fingers itched toward my temples as I bent over and stifled a loud roaring burst of pain. And then my vision became stained with a light crimson hue. The room faded away and I fell to my knees. My ears came undone as an erratic buzzing of pain-infected howls invaded my head. Instead of crying out, I bit my lips, sealing them shut.

"No!" I silently pleaded.

_I interrupted by clearing my throat, "He told me that his name was 'The Other,' and that he was searching for Loki."_

_"It's funny how that name consistently keeps being attached to you, right?" she curiously stated, her eyes knowing._

_"To what are you referring? I never told you this because Thor told me not to disclose this, but Loki died on another realm. He's gone. I don't expect you to feel apathy for the knowledge, but that's the truth. Thor can confirm it," I rudely told her._

Flashes of brief images collided against one another. I saw The Other and Thanos crossing what appeared to be something like a black hole together. Then I was taken to a world filled with the Chitauri. And then my eyes opened as he turned around and began to run at me.

A loud screeching infiltrated my mind and suddenly, my eyes flew open as the hospital room began to appear once more. I frantically glanced all around until a sharp pain rushed toward my forearm. I shot my gaze down to see that I'd somehow gotten a hold of Loki's knife and jabbed it gently into my arm. Blood raged out of my skin at an alarming rate.

A large shiver raced through my spine as I cringed in quiet agony. And suddenly, the blood started to gather and collect into a small diamond shaped crystal. My brows rose, temporarily flabbergasted. And then the crystal plunged itself toward me, burning my clothes as it embedded itself directly over my heart. A loud burst of throbbing noise ruptured the room.

My lungs released the pent up anger and pain I'd collected and tucked away within me for safe keeping as my eyes quickly caught sight of my skin glowing orange. Eventually, all energy faded from my body, so I simply fell limp on the cold floor. My body twitched some and ached even more. My breathing became labored until some time sluggishly passed.

All went quiet. And then I heard something step closer to me from the corner of the room. My body became alert and I returned to my feet once more, my arms reaching for the edge of the bed for support. My lungs beckoned me to draw in a large breath, and as I did, my chest ingested a sharpness that I could not bear. I winced and clutched at my neck.

Eventually, I glanced up and studied the corner of the room. Without moving, I calmed myself down. "Who's there? I know someone is standing there."

In a gentle, genderless reply, the entity said, "I am merely an observer, human. No more a threat than an ally. My purpose is not to harm you."

As I tried to laugh, pain burn at my chest, causing me to wince again, "Are y-you satisfied yet?"

Slowly, the entity replied playfully, "Satisfaction is not in my nature."

I coughed, "Nice to know."

Suddenly, the sliding door burst open and I was roughly turned around, seeing three men standing, huffing and puffing from running I assumed. My attention turned toward the party. My dull-colored eyes examined Tony, Bruce, and Thor.

Thor held me by the shoulders gently and brought me into a soothing embrace for which I was thankful. His arms steadied me, allowing me to rest a bit. His hand covered the back of my head and moved his hand down my spine, "Are you all right, Jane?"

I nodded, my gaze settling over Tony and Bruce, "I know what The Other plans to do. It's not a theory. It's a fact of what has been going on and what they plan to do. I've seen it with my own eyes."

Tony glanced over at Bruce, and Dr. Banner only shrugged, "How did you see it?" His voice was wary, but firm.

Tony Stark moved his hand over his glowing chest, "More like what do they intend to do?"

Thor kept his arms around me, but pulled back a bit to add, "Tell us what happened."

"They found a way to cross the time continuum to bring back the Chitauri race. I don't know when they did this, but the Chitauri will come back in ten fold now. They mean to destroy the earth entirely. I think they're after the Tesseract or something much larger than we all expect," I breathlessly, my covered hands reaching for Thor's for more stability.

Dr. Banner narrowed his eyes, "Just how do you know this?"

Quickly, Stark arrogantly laughed, "You do recall that I sent a nuked their asses, right?"

Sighing, I tried to straighten my posture without success, "Look, that happened, but Thanos located a wormhole that is linked to time before that even happened. Who knows how many of them exist or if he has access to more."

Thor reached for my chin, recalling my attention from the two other men, "Just how did you see all of this, Jane?"

I bit my lip. I'd somehow known it all along, but desperately wanted to ignore it as if it wouldn't be so. "The Aether wasn't completely destroyed. It's somehow attached to me still, but that's where my theories begin. There won't be another Convergence for five-thousand years, but whose to say that Thanos won't try to repeat it by finding these wormholes? I doubt he's that advanced into planning yet; however, it is a possibility."

"No, that cannot be. Loki died, and I destroyed the Aether by killing Malekith," Thor reiterated slowly as if I'd grown dumb.

Shaking my head, I pushed myself away from Thor. "Think about it. I was able to suck Dr. Banner's power away from him to the point where he was knocked incapacitated for several weeks. I only had to barely touch Kurtz in order for him to become unconscious, too. What if the more energy I absorb, the more powerful I become? And if that's really the case, then Thanos is the least of your worries."

Thor reclaimed me into his arms, a tight embrace this time, "No," he choked, "you're human and completely harmless." To me, he appeared to be trying to convince himself of that false reality.

My energy began to return to me, so I pushed away from him and moved in front of Tony, "I need you or anyone to teach me how to fight. I won't sit around like a dame in waiting anymore."

Thor's laughter broke my concentration, "Absolutely not. You're to stay here."

My eyes tightly closed, "If I stay here, then I'm going to combust. I need to be able to defend myself because I can't stay here any longer than I have. Let's face it."

Tony interjected, "I agree. She's what attracted The Other to the helicarrier in the first place. Wherever she is, Thanos will be able to track us that much easier. She's truly onto something, Thor. We're here to protect the public, and should she become a threat, we have to be prepared for that, too. Just like with The Hulk."

The god of thunder roared loudly, closing in to Tony and grasping his shirt by the collar, "If you ever harm her, I would break any one of you before I'd let that happen."

Caught in a fleeting moment of pent up frustration, I shouted, "Enough!" I walked between Thor and Stark, "Neither of you have control over my life. And while I do believe that everyone should be prepared to kill me should I become a threat, I don't think that _now_ is the appropriate time!"

Thor became emotional, but made no movements. He couldn't look at me. Instead, he walked toward the door and said, "We'll need to discuss this further with the rest of the group. Immediately."

Upon his exit, I sat back on the bed with a heavy sigh. I raised my hand to rest on my chest. As my chest expanded and contracted deeply, my features moved to fit shock, confusion, and panic.

Bruce drew closer and the disturbance withdrew me from my thoughts. "What is it?"

Instantly, I glanced between the two remaining men and dreadfully murmured, "I have no heartbeat."

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

So, things became very real. This story will have arcs. This is still the first one! I'm using all of the movies' elements as far as Loki's powers. Let's face it, we all know that he's somewhere in the story already :D **PLEASE** **REVIEW**! It's truly my motivation, and this story doesn't have much. Still, I can't seem to lay off the updates. Lol. Take care until next time!

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	8. Give You All I Am If That's What You Ask

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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_Chapter Title: _Give You All I Am, _If That's What You Ask  
_

The tip of my pencil aimlessly bounced off the blank sheet of computer paper. I stood in the middle of the abandoned cafeteria, still and quiet. The only light provided was the single light above. The facility we'd relocated to had been a bit outdated in all terms, so that meant dealing with the lack of lighting in some areas of the confined space.

With a brush of frustration on my breath, I grunted. "What am I missing? It's all here," I uttered to myself. I leaned over and rested on my elbows. I lifted the pencil to where the eraser was brushing against the blank paper, the lead grazing my glove. "It's all right in front of me," I reminded myself.

My bare foot playfully moved up and down against the cold flooring, sometimes rubbing against my exposed leg. My head hopelessly hung low, "But why can't I find it?"

Adjusting my posture, I straightened my back and placed my balled fists on my hips as my eyes needlessly scanned the pages splayed before me on a low, long table.

Suddenly, I heard a metal door break open against the hollow, dull noises of the air in the room. I turned, seeing Steve. "Hey," I greeted nonchalantly.

"Hello, Ms. Foster," he added as he pulled the door closed and made his way over to me. Glancing over the evidence, I saw him raise a brow, "What exactly are you doing? It's about three in the morning."

I grabbed my pencil and began tracing earth's location on a map of the galaxy. "I'm plotting the relative location of the Wormhole. I'm tracking it through known areas of black hole activity starting close to home. I've got nothing else to go off of. I don't know the exact coordinates of Asgard or Svartalfheim. I'm left with no choice."

He chuckled, "And how exactly will this help us out?"

"By placing potential in an area, we can use telescopes to watch the areas for any unusual sightings. If we find anything, we can gather a correct trajectory for where Thanos is," I finished as I measured the distance between earth and the sun, desperate to cover all areas of study before ruling something out indefinitely.

He leaned closely to me, his taller frame towering over me in a similar way Thor, Loki, and half the universe did. Unconsciously, I stepped a half-step toward my right and away from him. He didn't seem to notice, though. "Wouldn't computers make this a much easier process?"

"Captain, I'm old fashion when it comes to research. That's something you should appreciate, no?" I joked. My mouth smiled briefly. As I glanced up to him, he stared down at me.

He eventually mirrored my grin, "Are you sure that this is the best course of research, though?"

My mouth fell quickly. "I don't have a heartbeat anymore, Cap. I'm desperate for embarking old methods if only to distract me for longer."

"Yes," he agreed politely, slowly dragging his eyes over the maps and papers spread out over the table, "but shouldn't you be training?"

My hand moved over my forehead. My fingers scratched at my roots a bit, "Steve, I'm not a warrior, fighter, or defender. This whole time I've dedicated myself to training, I feel out of place. At first it was invigorating. I actually thought that I could learn to harness the Aether inside of me; however, the more I learned how to fight, the stronger the pull was to hurt another."

"Thor mentioned something similar," Rogers added casually, despite the awkward insertion of the man that had taken extreme measures to ignore me for two months.

Deciding that it was best to pursue other areas of topic, I said, "It's strange. Thanos hasn't made any efforts to attack in over three months."

I glanced back up and took note of his awareness of my stance of Thor for the moment, "I agree." After a moment of silence, the avenger stood proudly, defiantly, "I admire your bravery, Jane. I've never had the privilege of knowing you during other circumstances, but I'm glad we have moments like this to get to know each other. You should hear Bruce and Stark argue with me when they are in their labs. You're very pleasant."

"Listen, Steve. I'm not a hero. I'm not required to be brave. I'm just an astrophysicist who has been ridden with the burden of the Aether. Soon, I'm not sure what I'll be," I confided. I remained unfazed by the gravity of the words while he appeared to be disturbed by them.

He stammered, "J-Jane. I can't promise that things will turn out great or not. The only thing you can do is fight for things to be great. That's what I've learned over the course of my time in this new decade."

I sadly smiled, "I think we're more alike than we think. You're a man out of time, and I am woman no longer a human. I don't know what I am."

His hand casually reached for my shoulder. I observed that he acted quite professional through all walks of life: in and out of battle. Nodding, he sent down a reassuring smile, "You will eventually find your path, Jane Foster. I didn't think I would. It took the Avengers for me to feel like I belonged to something again. I lost a lot during my time in the ice."

Patiently, I nodded. I tucked back a loose strand of hair back behind my ear before replying, "I have a favor to ask."

"Of course," he responded quickly.

I bit my lip. "If I ever become ruthless and a risk to people's lives, I want to know you'd kill me."

Oddly, he responded only by laughing, "You're very cryptic."

Despite wanting to smile, I bit the urge back as I moved away, shoving his hand from my shoulder. I ensnared him so he would actually listen, "Thor won't do it. I know that. He has so much strength, but after all he has lost already, he wouldn't be able to bear losing me, too. So, I'm asking that you do it."

"Why me?" he hesitantly questioned.

I sighed, glancing away, "Because you don't know me enough to truly think twice when the time comes. Your conviction exceeds your capability from being irrational, or so I've found."

His eyes narrowed, "Are you saying we can't get to know another?"

I shook my head. "I can't afford to be close to anyone now."

"And Thor? You're just going to leave him here to fight your battle?" he interjected coldly.

I turned to him and pushed at him, "You have no idea what you're talking about, Captain."

"Ah. What is he to you anymore?" he queried harshly, his hands waving over his shoulders, signaling a temporary truce.

Closing my heavy lids, I inhaled loudly, calming myself down tremendously, "Thor will always be someone I care for, but until I get everything sorted out, I can't hurt anyone."

As if satisfied with the reply, Steve relaxed, moving to another subject, "Would you care for my help?"

The statement caused me to laugh, "Do you know how to track anomalies?"

He appeared defeated, "No, I sure don't."

My laugh grew louder, "Then, no. There's nothing you can help out with for now. But thank you."

"Course," he answered as he turned around, his hand waving high in the air.

When the door slammed shut, the silence invaded the heavy air again. Sighing, I continued to lean over the papers and maps. "Things would be so much easier if certain individuals were still alive or here at least."

"That is the eternal flaw of your science," a genderless voice called from directly behind me.

The muscles in my body tensed, but I remained neutral. "You're back: again."

"I go where I may find entertainment."

"Great," I added dryly as I relaxed a bit to get back to work.

"You are nothing without your so-called technology. You sit here to only be bombarded by more questions," the voice added pretentiously.

My throat constricted as I laughed, "It's in my questioning that I find the answers, Voice."

"Voice? Is that what you call me?"

My head shook without glancing back. There would be nothing there. "What else would I call you?"

"I am known to be many things by different people," the entity retorted arrogantly.

"I should just call you 'V.'"

The voice scoffed, clearly baffled, "Why that?"

I cheerfully murmured, "Voice, vague, and vain. All qualities I can associate to you."

"How did you detect me then?"

My brows scrunched together. My brown hues scanned the blackness of the large space hesitantly. "'Then'?"

"Some time ago," the entity replied.

Withholding my hesitation, I quipped, "I heard a footstep."

"Not just anyone can detect me, mortal."

I threw my pencil on the table, but it continued to roll and landed on the floor. A ghostly echo tiptoed across the space. "Haven't you heard? I don't have a beating heart, so I must not be human any longer."

The androgynous entity chuckled sadistically, the noise directly behind me soothing my ear, "You only need to succumb to what great powers you have within you. Use them, know them: intimately and spiritually. Power is the source of all life. It sustains it despite whatever side from which it originates."

I helplessly frowned, "I don't want to be a slave to it, though."

"Mortal, you are but a slave by ignoring it. The wrath, the pain, and the glory frightens you when you should be exploring the true depths of your power."

I pulled down my hair from the ponytail and shook my hand through the locks of chestnut hair. I was tired of people telling me how to live. "Either way, I lose something precious to me: my humanity or the people I love."

A cocky snort loudly distracted me from my thoughts, "The Aether will eventually overpower you. Ultimately, if you do not learn to control it now while you still can, you will be of a state of mind that intoxicates you slowly until you are nothing: have nothing."

My brows furrowed. "Wait a minute. From the sound of it, I'd say you were worried about me."

"Do not yet think with arrogance. I mean to help you, but I do not intend of attaching myself to you further. You interest me, but you are no pet," V detailed quickly.

"How do you plan on helping me?" I whispered. But after a silent moment, there was no reply. I turned around and saw no one, nothing. I glanced up at the single light up above my station, "Well, I'm going crazy."

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._

After an hour had passed, I gave up for the night on my research. I walked barefoot down the poorly lit corridors of the facility without a destination. I passed the hospital room that had been turned into my room for the duration of my stay here, but decided I was not quite tired enough for sleep.

Since I lost my heartbeat, I was able to do more things without sleeping much. My stamina had also improved. I was not quite up to Steve Rogers' running speed, but I was able to outrun everyone else thus far.

Training had been the worst way of trying to cope with the Aether still existing. I wanted a way so I was distracted. I didn't want to think about what I'd lost by simply venturing through that wormhole to find the Aether those months ago.

When I thought about it, much like in this moment, I saw all of the ghosts that stained my memory: Frigga, Loki, Asgardians, and now Kurtz. Also, my feelings for Thor had been subjugated by my mood swings. I knew that I loved him—respected him beyond recognition. I needed to convey my feelings to Thor before things got even worse, but the said man wouldn't even look at me anymore.

I felt gnawing grip over my belly. The both of us knew we had but borrowed time with each other. I paused, stopping in my tracks. He was aware that I would soon be on his list of people lost.

I owed him so much. He'd shown me the stars and had been physical evidence of my life's work. Because of him, I'm slightly more respected in my field. He protected me from death so many times—even when he was away. He only ever thought about me in his actions aside from the good of his homeland.

I decided that that was a justifiably good enough answer to my ongoing internal questioning. I needed to accept that I wouldn't ever be first on is list of priorities. I could manage without that, truly. He would eventually live on without me: my short years nothing compared to his lifetime. He would eventually carry a fond memory of when we shared our life together.

And that would immortalize me so long as he still lived. Until now, I'd been so unfair to Thor. He was still grieving his losses. Now he had more reason to grieve instead of healing. And all of this was my fault.

I rubbed my eyes with balled fists loosely curled. I moaned groggily. Finally, I sighed. Perhaps I was tired after all. Glancing down both ways down the corridor to my left and right, I noticed that I'd somehow ended up outside Kurtz' room.

Through weary eyes, I inspected the door. I mindlessly stared at the metal structure before me as if my mind could order it to open. At least that ability would have been useful, if not a bit more convenient.

I launched away from the wall I leaned against to move closer to the door. I hadn't returned to this room since the time I had the vision. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door quietly. Instantly, I saw that he was still in his coma. It was as if I'd only been here yesterday. No movements whatsoever from my observation had taken place since.

I walked toward him tentatively. "Logan?"

No response. Not even a twitch.

Biting my lip, I curled my fingers over the top of his hand. "Kurtz?"

Nothing, still.

My eyes closed briefly. "You can't get any more pretty, if that's what you're trying to do in your sleep. So just wake up already."

The sheets stirred, his legs flinching. I grinned stupidly, a joyful chuckle playfully stinging my throat. "No way."

His hand abruptly tightened over mine, and he moaned. "You believe me to be 'pretty,' do you?"

My eyes lit up as I took a seat on the bed next to him, "Believe whatever you want. I'm so glad that you're finally awake!"

He lifted my hand as if to observe it. His eyes met mine, the intensity radiating uncomfortably toward mine, "How long?"

My features saddened, gravity pulling my smile away, "Three months."

His firm grip lifted my covered hand closer to his eyes. "They're silver," he quickly turned my wrist, adding, "With a glimmer of green." His tone suggested disgust, though from my prospective, it seemed rather peculiar.

I retracted my hand from his, "Green's a great color."

He smirked arrogantly, "Many here believe otherwise."

"They're understandably biased," I told him as he reclaimed my hand. My brows moved together as a weird fuzziness settled in my belly. Attempting to lighten the mood, I told him, "My gloves are from Asgard. Thor went back to get them custom made with materials collected from a few realms...or so he told the Avengers. He green hue was from a gem that is said to control magic."

He was quiet for a few bitter seconds before he smiled playfully, "Sounds convenient."

Suddenly, my eyes were filled with unshed moisture, collecting in two heavy mounds in my eyes, "So much has happened without you."

"As I can imagine, Jane Foster," he replied. His voice was uneven and even cracked.

"I told you about the Aether, right?"

He nodded.

"Great, well," I hesitantly began, "it's still around, and that what is inside of me."

He fixed unsteady features to appear cautious, "Oh?"

I nodded. "Yep. Also, Thanos and The Other have travelled back into time and brought back the Chitauri into this time. So there will be another invasion if we can't find a way to stop it."

"And what does that mean for you?"

I shrugged as I lost control of my tears. Shaking my head, I slipped my hues away from his, but he captured my chin with his fingers to steady them back on his. My breath became heavy, unsteady. With my hand in his grasp, I maneuvered them so that I guided his hand over my chest. "What do you feel?"

He swallowed. For a few minutes we sat there staring at each other, neither pushing or dominating, but more like surrendering. I bit my lip and tilted my head to the left. He withdrew his hand from my chin and moved it back so that he cupped the base of my neck. He effortlessly guided me closer to him so that our foreheads rested agains the other.

His hot breath breezed against the side of my face. My chocolate eyes fused with his aware of the proximity. My senses seemed to infiltrated with him: as if he controlled my every move. However, I realized that it was me who moved in closer until my nose brushed his.

My hair poured over my shoulder as he moved the hand behind my head down to the small of my spine, ushering me to rise to my knees so that I was looking down on him. The hand in the center of my chest moved to the left, steadying over my left breast delicately. The sensitive touch quickly ceased when I moaned at the unfamiliar sensation. His hand continued its movement down at my hip.

In hasty motion, he slipped his hand underneath my thin shirt, his hand utterly warm against my goose-fleshed skin. His pale hazel eyes never left mine, and I placed both of my hands behind his head as he bent down, pressing his lips against my tanned skin.

Moaning quietly, I threw my head back as he wrapped both arms around me, his strength pulling me closer. He sealed his mouth over a small expanse of flesh underneath the left cup of my bra, his tongue sliding over me quickly. - -

A loud commotion pulled me from my sleep. My chest heaved heavily as my hands immediately flew to my head, messing with my thick hair a bit. I groaned. "What was that?"

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

Before you crucify me for adding in a cliche, keep your patience with me! Next chapter shall rectify a few things from this chapter! As promised, this story will not be too quickly paced like my other stories always turn out to be! It won't be excruciatingly slow, either! Stay tuned! :D

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	9. My Imagination and Emotions Running Wild

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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_Chapter Title: With Your Imagination and Emotions Running Wild_

_Wind dragged in a horizontal slash that nearly cut at my bear skin. My hair was conveniently tied into a tight, precise bun atop my crown. I shielded my eyes with my gloved hand as I ran out after Thor. _

_"Thor!" the utterance nearly stifled by the roaring of the wind._

_The Asgardian prince halted in his tracks. Slowly, he turned, "How did you know where to find me?"_

_.-.-.-._

Binoculars directed my vision toward the many and vast galaxies shining brightly overhead. I found out that the underground facility was located in the middle of the New Mexico desert about fifty miles outside where the graveyard town, Puente Antiguo.

A part of me wanted nothing more than to run off into the sandy abyss and seek out my old hub.

The wind was calm, still, unlike earlier that same day. The time was at least two in the morning, as the way the moon was positioned suggested. I scanned the night sky from horizon to horizon.

Somewhere, there were developed worlds that existed.

.-.-.-.

_My body's momentum slowed as I approached him. The endurance I'd built up had allowed me to outrun and at the very least catch up to Thor. His powerful, thick muscly legs allowed him for swift, yet bulky movement._

_My lungs released their captive breath in a loud _whoosh_. "Steve told me."_

_He hopelessly laughed, "I shall refrain from his confidence then in future."_

_I punched his arm, "I deserve to know that you're going back to Asgard."_

_He caught my light fist and spread my hand out delicately. He traced his middle finger over my metallic palm, "You deserve much that I cannot give to you, Jane. I knew that you would intercept me, thus."_

_.-.-.-._

I stepped out and heard the crunch of shifting sand beneath my feet. I felt that with just that one simple step, I'd been drawn closer to kept secret of the sky that I couldn't quite make out.

"What exactly do you believe you will accomplish by gazing through those?" a strong voice muttered from behind, close to my ear.

I didn't flinch. I didn't move, "Logan, I would have hoped that you'd catch my avoiding you as an intentional occurrence."

He chuckled lowly, "I gathered, but I rarely heed to the intentions of others."

"You haven't come to me in five days, Kurtz. I was beginning to think you would respect my choices," I retorted, still studying the stars mindlessly.

I heard the sand shift beneath his shoes as he moved closer, his chest against my back and his hands over my hip and shoulder. I glanced over my shoulder defensively. His face had lowered slightly, so our noses grazed each other's. My breath caught in a quick intake of air.

His short lashes trembled over his eyes as they continuously studied my features. "What do you see, Jane?" he quietly added.

I turned my head back toward my front, glancing down at the soft textured ground. I raised the pair of binoculars over my shoulder. When he finally took them and gazed through them, I took the opportunity to snake myself away from him. Instead, I idly steadied the set where I had had it prior to being disturbed.

"Venus," I told him. "It's not entirely close enough to make out unless you happen to be familiar with its orbital path." I sighed sadly, "It was the first thing my mother showed me when I was a girl."

"Intriguing," he impishly commented. He lowered the binoculars, but did not hand them back to me. "You mentioned your mother."

I sarcastically laughed, "We're not talking about my family life."

"I see no reason why we could not," he countered playfully.

Reluctantly, I reached up to seize the device from him, but he lifted his hands high above us. I rolled my eyes, "Yes, I did. What do you want to know?"

Knowingly, he lowered the artifact in his tight grasp, "Ah, well, how about your father?"

.-.-.-.

_I scrunched my brows close to my eyes in a bit of frustration, "You haven't spoken to me in months, Thor. I need you here to help me with this!"_

_"You have your duties to your research," he began. Eventually, he added, "My purpose is in Asgard for the course of the next few days, Jane. I have been summoned by my father. Lady Sif came to deliver the news just last evening. She was needed for further instruction, so she was required to go back after relaying the information from my father."_

_I stomped my foot and shrugged, "At least you're honest."_

_Thor's cape danced lucidly in the wind's pace. He lifted his free hand to caress the side of my face, "Of course."_

_The sand hit my skin harshly, but I remained where I stood. "Thor, you left me for over two years. When will we have an actual relationship?"_

_"You knew that it would be like this," he warned, his tone barely contained._

_My head drew back, "Excuse me? How was I supposed to get accustomed to you never being here, Thor?"_

_He stepped closer and pulled my chin up with a rough hand, snagging my attention. Unlike the tempting, fragile hand of the man I seriously shouldn't even think about, Thor's grip was harsh, hostile. "I sacrifice my want for being beside you for my other duties. Do not overlook that."_

_.-.-.-._

I turned fully in order to face him, "Why do you want to know about my family?"

He idly shrugged, "I am only of a curious mind."

Biting my lip, I shook my hues off to the side and shrugged. "Fine, my so-called mother lives in London, and my father left only a year I began living with them."

His features grew dark, "They are not your birth family?"

I timidly shook my head, "Nope. That's an even more depressing story itself."

Mildly absent from the brief conversation, Kurtz eventually nodded."

I stepped closer and reached for the binoculars with success. The proximity seemed to snag his attention. "Secret for secret, Logan. Tell me why you're playing with me."

His eyes narrowed, "We are simply standing."

I bounced on the balls of my heels, "Right now we are, but what do you want from me? You know that I'm with Thor; yet, you're here."

His eyes captured mine in a reluctant movement. He edged closed toward me: barely. His hazel hues afforded me no knowledge of his thought process, which irked me heavily. He blinked only once before replying, "Honestly, I do not know."

The corner of my mouth twitched, my mouth following off to the side. I bowed my head slightly, "I believe you."

.-.-.-.

_My free hand angrily grasped his wrist and shoved him away from me rather easily. As I stepped back from the strength of the movement, my shoulders slowly moved up and down as I breathed. _

_I sprang at him and punched him, instantly regretting the decision. I winced upon contact, waving my hand aimlessly at my side. "Fuck!" I cursed uncharacteristically. I groaned in pain as I shouted, "You self-righteous, brooding, pig-headed, selfish, vain, primitive ninnyhammer!"  
_

_Abruptly, he raised his brow, "Pardon?"_

_I shouted in a mild rage, "OF course! You're too doltish to get the reference! I'm sure someone out there would appreciate the irony!"_

_His eyes grew venomous._

_.-.-.-._

"First, before I tell you anything, I'm going to make a fire. It's really chilly out here," I casually told him as I glanced around for any wood. Surprisingly, they weren't hard to find. I withdrew my match from my back pocket and successfully lit the wood ablaze. Quickly, I sat down a few feet away from the glowing pit.

Holding my gloved hands out, I glanced over him as he sat parallel from me across the fire. "So, my birth parents tried to kill me when I was still in the womb. There's no way of sugarcoating that much," I fidgeted, "I've never talked to anyone about this before, so stay patient for me."

I sealed my hands together and placed them in my lap, "Something went entirely wrong and they were for to seek medical help. It turns out I was the one that survived. I am supposed to have a twin. After they were taken into custody, I was given to a string of families in foster care here in the states. It wasn't until I was eight that I got placed with my mother."

"And how did you learn to cope with such a reality?" he awkwardly added after about a minute of reflection. His face remained anonymous, absent of any emotion. Only his eyes gave me indication of awareness.

I weakly smiled, "I was angry for a while, but eventually, I followed my mother around, met Erik Selvig, and fell in love with the stars. I put myself in my work. I didn't let any of it define who I was, not did I spare a single thought of where my biological parents were. They're evil, and I wouldn't want to meet them."

Silence fell over us like a blanket. Eventually, I hummed along with the random cracking of the fire. "It's inexplicable...because I know that I was supposed to live this different life than the one I'm currently in. I do think about who I would have turned out to be. I wonder about what name I might have had. I was named Jane simply because there was no one there to name me. A nurse thought it would be funny to call me 'Jane Doe,' and it stuck."

.-.-.-.

_Before he could speak, though, I roared, "If you ever touch me like that again, I swear you won't like what else follows!"_

_Instantly, his features softened. We stared at each other for a short second until he closed the distance, his lips ardent over mine suddenly. My eyes widened, finding myself somewhat baffled. As he closed his eyes and wrapped me in his firm arms, I stared vacantly after him, wondering where exactly the spark had gone._

_Tears claimed my eyes. When had things become so messy? Especially with the man I'd followed all across the universe to be with. My eyes closed and the tears were released from the confinement of my eyes, sliding slowly down my face._

_I hadn't ever felt so profoundly alone._

_.-.-.-._

"If circumstances could be different, either in your favor or not, would you consider pursuing your alter life?" he inquired, emotionless.

I swallowed, "No. I wouldn't. Everything that's happened has led me to where I am today. I've hurt so many people, and made a multitude of irrational mistakes, but I think that is all a part of the journey everyone is capable of experiencing."

Catching me off guard, he laughed. "That," he whispered lightly, "is quite possibly the most insightful opinion I have heard in a long time."

I smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, that wasn't my opinion."

"Then, whose?"

I stared down at the fire, my eyes weighted down with tears, "A wonderful, remarkable queen. Frigga. She is the mother of both Loki and Thor. Those were the words she told me just before she hid me in the alcove right before she was killed." I paused, steadying my thoughts and stifling my unshed tears, "I didn't understand her guidance until just now."

.-.-.-.

_His lips were relentless enough to smooth over the lackluster revelation, so I conceded into him, waning into his arms helplessly. If I still had a heartbeat, I'd wish that it would flutter in this moment: knowing that it wouldn't even stutter. I opened my mouth to him to give him some peace._

_He quickly pulled back, clearly misinterpreting my crying, "Jane, I shall not be gone terribly long."_

_Then, I had a realization. This was the man whose life I'd ruined in many ways. I owed him my life. Why shouldn't I feel anything toward him? It was simply an error triggered by the Aether. I desperately wanted it to be. Playing along, I shook my head, "What happens if you come back and I'm not here anymore?"_

_"Shh," he cooed quietly. "There is not a force in this universe that could stop me from having you. Remember that always."_

_I nodded obediently. "All right." My arms extended and I tore myself away from him, "Go."_

_.-.-.-._

His eyes snapped at me upon the second I peeked through my fallen strands of hair at him. His chest heaved. He appeared to be utterly breathless. As I gazed over him, I noticed the heavy, tear-filled and lost eyes surrendering under my hues.

"What?" I asked hesitantly.

He quickly shoved his gaze to the side, laughing akin to madness, "It is of no consequence."

Not knowing of what else to do, I stood up and moved around the fire, kneeling before him on my knees. I took his face in my hands and stared intently into his eyes, "Who are you?"

In an attempt for a quick reply, he muttered, "I am Lo...gan. Logan Kurtz. A SHIELD worker."

I leaned forward and sealed my lips over his small pair of rough lips. Instantly, he moaned at the contact. I lifted, moving millimeters away from him and dipped my head to my left, returning to our connection. I continuously pecked at his lips lightly a few times before brushing my lips once more over his.

As I pulled back, I lowered my body so that I was sitting on my heels. We were leveled at this angle. The chaste, fleeting contact had ignited something within me: a light I hadn't known I possessed. "Are you sure?"

His eyes remained closed as he licked his lips between his words, "Oh, yes."

_.-.-.-._

_And without a second thought, he left me in the middle of the large, hot desolate desert._

_.-.-.-._

And without a second thought, I left him in the middle of the bitter, cold dark desert.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

Like I said, patience! I promised a realistic, paced (not too slow) story. I'm finding it so fun to write this story more and more! What do you think? Can I get to 40 **REVIEWS?**

**Breviary-Rose (:**


	10. They Say They Know What I Can Feel

_"Although the Convergence is in the past, the effects of the Aether are hardly over."_

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_Running Up That Hill_ \- Placebo

And if I only could,  
Make a deal with God and get him to swap our places,  
Be running up that road, Be running up that hill,  
Be running up that building.  
If I only could...

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_Chapter Title: They Say They Know What I Can Feel_

My vision began to haze in such a quick and agonizing manner. A hard grip firmly cusped my throat as my covered hand grasped his wrist. My soul began to wither as my eyes began to waver into a thick smog of blackness. My chest hurled due to the lack of air, and my lungs heaved desperately.

Speech was no longer possible as I stared into Kurtz' lethal eyes, once so familiar that I should now gaze into a strangers hues. This wasn't Logan Kurtz: at least not the man I'd come to know.

Despite the torturous need to succumb to the darkness already, I held his gaze adamantly as he raised his gun to my neck.

"Who are you?" he repeated for probably the thirteenth time.

He knew I would not, could not, speak. I began to convulse, my body shaking. Even as he held my faltering brown hues with lackluster hazel orbs, a sickening sadistic gleam beamed through his features.

He hauntingly laughed, "You'll pay for taking my mind, witch."

He pounded the butt of the gun against my temple, pain reverberating from my brain to the nails on my toes. I cried out, consequently releasing any last bit of oxygen I still had left.

Unable to bear much else, I gathered what strength I still could muster together and jammed my knee into his belly. Immediately he let go of me and fell to the ground, bellowing over temporarily.

I clutched my throat and winced from the small, brute impact the simple touch inflicted. I limped my way to the stairs of the abandoned lab and hurried as quickly as possible out of the familiar building while grabbing my bag.

I reached in and pulled out the keys to the motorcycle I'd use to come here last night with Kurtz. Straddling the vehicle, I scrambled with the keys. In the hurry I was in, panic sank into my belly, and made my fingers start to shake. "Just get into the ignition!" I ordered the inanimate object.

I turned around and saw that Logan stalked me with a quick pace. My brain shut down in that moment. Despite the fact that I knew I could have out run this guy, I was injured and could barely breath. I felt my energy depleting as quickly as he rushed toward me.

I felt my muscles freeze, a slow frost biting my skin. I closed my eyes once and quickly they opened again. He was close, a knife in his right hand. It appeared he hand lost the gun entirely. I began to hyperventilate.

My eyes grew heavy with moisture as it freely rolled down my face. This was not how I was supposed to die. In my non-beating heart, I knew that I couldn't kill him. I wasn't a warrior. I hadn't even craved another to die by my own hands. Besides, somewhere out there was the entity I'd come to unreasonably trust. What if by killing him, I never would get the chance to see them again.

"Please, stop, Logan," I weakly pleaded as he closed in on me at a distance of fifteen feet.

I gripped the handles of the bike and flinched, my eyes closed as he readied the small blade. I began to count the seconds, any of them being my last. _1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7..._ Surely it didn't take him seven or more seconds to throw a blade at me.

With a spark of curiosity, I peeked through my eyes; however, what I saw I wasn't prepared for.

I saw Loki adorned in his full armor, including his helmet or horns, standing over Kurtz' body. I rushed myself off of the bike and moved around the tall Asgardian. Loki had turned the blade on Kurtz and stabbed him directly in the head.

The wind furiously blew my hair in my face haphazardly as I turned around seeing that he had not made a move whatsoever. Instead, he openly gazed over me as if assessing my wounds.

He stepped closer toward me. I instinctively stepped back.

He repeated the action twice more, and so did I.

I nearly tripped over the lifeless body, but I made use of the stumble by pulling the knife out of Logan's head. I stood my ground and held out the knife. "You're dead," I cleverly reminded him.

His face hadn't flinched in fear upon seeing her draw the weapon in front of her. Instead, his features fit to worry. He swallowed, "What happened?" His voice was methodical and irrationally even.

The wind stole another opportunity to capture my hair and wave it around whimsically through the air. My chest heaved as I coughed lightly. "I woke up to him strangling me. Until ten minutes ago, we actually got along. I don't think that was the person I got to know, though."

He maneuvered his arms around him so that his hands clasped at his back. He closed the distance between us as I lowered the knife in the process. My eyes were captured and slave to his bright, icy blue-green eyes. I blinked regrettably.

He stood only a foot away from me and studied me, "You are correct in your assumption."

Hastily, I grabbed his elbow and dragged him toward the old lab. While approaching the building, I glanced around. "Let's get covered. It's not in our best interest to be seen."

Apparently, the statement caused him to chuckle lowly, "You are the only one who will see me. Why else did that human not scream before I killed him?"

"Shit," I halted. I glanced back at the body and glanced up to him. "Do you know where to hide a body?"

His brows thinned together. "You are not the least bit phased that I so quickly killed your precious Kurtz?"

I gulped despite the sting in my throat. I sucked on my lower lip and glanced up to him cautiously, "My mind is a bit preoccupied and warped with other various sentiments."

"Oh, yes," he plainly commented. Turning, he grabbed the body by the shoulder and threw it into a wormhole I hadn't realized was there in the first place. He quickly made his way back to me. The Asgardian grabbed me by the shoulder and guided me into the building, closing the door behind him. "The Aether," he finished.

I managed to slip out of his grasp and turned my body so quickly that I became disoriented for a split second. My hands shook in the movement of me lifting my hands to cradle my temples. Wincing through the pain, I felt a pair of arms collect me and take me to the long, dingy couch. Neatly depositing me over the hard cushions, Loki clutched my hands.

I then heard a voice try to beckon me to open my mind. My breath caught as The Other's voice battled against my weakened state to enter my mind. A shiver pried itself from the small of my back. Sound began to ring like a bell against my ear. And then, I heard a scream.

He placed his arms around me in a protective cocoon that virtually tore me away from the voice altogether. I deeply inhaled and exhaled quickly, throwing my lids open to observe him as he comforted me. He knelt onto the hard floor of the lab as I curled against the end of the long couch shaking.

He swallowed as my eyes met his. "He calls to you as he once called upon me," he revealed. His eyes gave nothing else but worry away. I found myself craving to know his thoughts. He was the grandest mystery in all the universe that no shortage of science could ever uncover.

He gracefully moved to sit in front of me in the middle of the couch, turning toward me as I leaned against the arm of the sofa. He cupped my cheek and tenderly stroked the skin there gently with his thumb. "Do not gaze upon me with that expression, Jane. True, we have much to sort out, but know that I shall not let any harm come to you. The time for questions shall have to be pushed toward the future for now."

Restlessly, I shoved my hands out and he answered my unvoiced plea for his hand. I leaned into his palm. "Just one answer, then. Maybe two," I requested softly.

He stared over me through guarded features, but he sent a smile smirk toward me. "All right."

"It was you this whole time?"

"Correct. I do admit that this projection not being my true self. I have access to a great power source that enhances my abilities to allow me to safely be here undetected," he carefully quipped.

My face scrunched toward its center, displaying a multitude of confusion. I shook my head and dropped the bloodied knife to the floor. "No matter how you answer my head is swarmed with questions."

"Allow me to mend your wounds," he offered without waiting for my response. By a simple placement of his hand to the dip in my neck, he sent a wave of comforting energy that seemed to revive a piece of my own energy. "I have not quite mastered true healing regarding physical wounds, but I can infect into you a temporary peace."

Noises from outside could scarcely be identified in the massive silence sitting between us. The ghost town hadn't been occupied in at least three years now, but I could still see the fonder parts of my memory enlightening my attention as I glanced around the room. I pushed my free hand through my mess of hair.

"It's so awkward being here again," I told him, my eyes enlisting a certain fire with the inflow of energy surging around in my body. "It's weird to be in the place where I was told to hate you."

He lowered his gaze and removed his hands away from me. He stood up and moved to the dining area to gaze through the wall of glass outside into the desert. He crossed his arms over his chest. I exhaled and drew my brows together. Giving him little space, I instantly shot up and crept toward him. A part of me still feared him, I noticed.

I boldly stood beside him and mimicked his stance. Curiosity jabbed my tongue over and over until I started to count the seconds. My fingers itched at my shoulders, moving restlessly until they simply hung loose at my sides. I rocked back on my feet and glanced around. Seeing an old plastic cup on the nearby dusty desk, I plucked it from its place and gripped it impatiently.

I began to hum and I suddenly took interest in the design of the empty cup I'd used last night before retiring. Simultaneously while I made the unfortunately noises, I whined both inwardly and outwardly. I bit my lip and peeked up at him.

He wouldn't spare me any attention. He seemed to be somewhere far away. I glanced back down at the cup and shrugged. My hand propelled into the air before my face. I caught it. I launched it a little higher. I caught it again. I repeated the pattern ten more times until it nearly touched the fifteen foot ceiling. I caught it again without fail.

And then, I deviously smiled. I threw it in Loki's direction in an effort to get him to look at me again. Without moving a single muscle aside from the arm that caught the cup, Loki painstakingly and excruciatingly turned my way after four seconds of delay.

His face offered no sign of entertainment, though. He walked toward me, but I backed up into the desk with little room to move away. He gracefully set the plastic artifact back whee I originally had found the blasted object. His armor brushed my exposed skin in the quick movement. A collection of bright lights melted away his armor in exchange for attire without the heavy metal and helmet. I hadn't seen his illusions so closely before, and I found myself dazzled by the effects.

I instantly raised my hand to slide through his hair, following the strands to the left of his face down to the ends of the locks. He leaned against the contact as my fingertips brushed his jaw.

I realized that his skin was much colder than Thor's. He stood taller than his brother for sure. And then I shut such thoughts down. "You are not him. And you have slaughtered so many people. A part of me is afraid of you. You're cruel and unpredictable. But I've come to care for you in the time we've had together."

His eyes narrowed, seemingly seeing my comparison between him and the god of thunder. He grabbed me in a quick, tight embrace, and he lowered his posture to place his face in my hair against my throat. I sucked in a hot breath, but my arms wrapped around him in a slow, awkward effort. He inhaled deeply as if to become familiar with the way my hair smelled.

"I don't know you at all," I continued, leaning my head against his. He lifted himself away from me, but kept the intimate distance. "But, if you'll let me, I'd like to."

"Tell me clearly your intentions for Thor," he ordered coldly.

I drew my head back and removed myself from his limp hold. I fixed my slackened posture and quietly replied, "I don't love him. I spend all this time trying to achieve his affection, but I was never good enough to be enough for him. Why else would he keep leaving me?"

Loki stepped forward, "I _di__d_ do a great job at distracting him."

I bit my lower lip, "Yes, but I'm a selfish person, and I required too much of him. To an extent, I was simply willing to follow him to find out more about the universe and his world. And eventually, I found out that it wasn't his world. I mean, he could have at least sought me out when he came down here for you! He could have done something...anything. Yet, he did nothing. Nothing can rectify my feeling for him."

He clutched onto my hand, clinging onto my fingertips a bit differently than before, "But you thought you owed him your entire life because of your belief regarding Frigga and myself."

"I do owe him my life, but am I sulking and waiting for his return? No, I'm standing with his childhood brother and deepest and most conflicting enemy...mine, too, I suppose."

His eyes narrowed, "I never risked my life for you."

"On Svartalfheim? I don't know your intentions, but I know what I saw when you were drifting near that massive energy portal," I clarified. My brows rose pertinently.

His mouth moved, but all sound faded. I rose my hand, and as I stretched out my fingertips toward him, his whole body materialized into a powder in the wind, falling like ashes all over.

I gasped and blinked, only when I opened my eyes again, I was in the middle of the hallway of the underground facility. Ash was spread over the floors in either direction glanced down. Immediately, I covered my mouth in order to avoid breathing the thick soot. I coughed anyway. Dust clouded against my dry eyes, causing them to moisten in discomfort.

I ran down the hall, avoiding the occasional spark coming from the destroyed electronic wires running across the ceiling to direct power throughout the facility. I ducked down to fit between the tight space between the destroyed rafters from the ceiling that had cracked. "HELLO?" I shouted.

Footsteps closed in on me. I felt a strong pulse throughout my body. "What is this?" I whispered as I picked up my pace. I coughed again and blinked. After approaching a dead end, I realized I'd backed myself into a corner. All paths were blocked with heavy debris. I glanced down at my hands and watched them in abandon as I saw they were not concealed. Had I done this?

I felt something grab ahold of me, an unseen force dragging me along the tarnished floor. I yelped as I stumbled across a piece of debris that turned my foot in an agonizing way. My feet slide flat across the hallway, closer to the dark figure breaking through the wreckage.

Suddenly, I stopped with a brutal force. My bone snapped in half in my calf. I bellowed in pain, falling to my knees immediately. But, as I buckled over the pain, a hand caught my throat. "Thanos," I whispered.

He sadistically smiled. "Where is he?" he spat. His grip burned at my skin. I lifted my hand to a small piece of exposed flesh, waiting for him to fall unconscious.

But nothing happened.

I gasped, forgetting the small ounces of pain oozing through my veins. Mentally, I prepared myself for torment, torture. I began to cry. I grabbed his wrist and he threw me against the wall. My spine twisted around the corner, my individual vertebrae parting from their tight confines. Had I energy to roar in anguish, I would have cried out one name: Logan.

Tears poured over my face as I saw the large shadow approach once more. He pulled me by my hair and set his lips against my ear, "I know where you are. I know what you hide within you. I will find you very soon, and this will seem but only a salvation compared to which I am capable of inflicting upon you. Do not fear me: hate me.

"Succumb to rage, and you shall be set free. You are my prisoner of despair. You shall obey me once I find you, and when I do, I shall kill every piece of humanity you love. And when that moment of agony bewitches your eyes, you will forget your innocence, and swear loyalty to death, rage, and chaos as the one you protect eventually did," he finished.

Everything faded quickly, the pain still lingered over my blood, my skin, and my life. I heard a distant cry of pure, horrific anger. As my vision came back, I saw that a green monster had me in his large hand. Quickly, he pulled me into his other hand and stretched. My bones were cracking with the pressure until my entire body was pulled apart in his very hands.

Another piece of time pulled me into consciousness. I opened my eyes, the pain melting away completely. I saw a mirror rippling red waves across its expanse. As if something controlled my body, my hand lifted and my palm spread out flat over the silky, thick liquid. The red swirled around my arm and over my shoulder. Something ushered me to turn.

I saw my mirror image, her whole body cocooned in a sheath of crimson blood. The smell infiltrated my nose. Her hair was streaked in the red liquid oozing in her steps toward me. She approached me and I saw her smile, "Jane, you have quite the mental resistance. I'm proud to be bound to you: my host."

I shook my head, standing my ground, "I don't understand."

She laughed hysterically, "Oh, Jane. I _am_ the Aether. This projection of myself is only but what you would have me be."

"What do you want from me?" I quickly questioned despite her soppy hand clutching my wrist.

She pulled me toward her and leaned over, a smile polluting her thick, guised expression, "I saw what you could be. Your conviction and curiosity is what astounded me. Malekith did not extract all of what I am from all that you are. A very small fraction of the Aether lies dormant within you. I await your acknowledgment. Only then could I help you protect your world."

I pulled away, but was held captive by her strong grip, "You're only meant for destruction."

"Precisely," she began, finally letting me go. "So let us play with this Thanos. Let us destroy him and rid your people of his tyranny."

I backed away and turned my back, gazing over the universe. It appeared that we were on some small asteroid. "I won't let you control me. What plans would you then have after his destruction?"

She laughed and I turned around. She slowly walked back to the blood mirror. "What you fail to understand is that I was mostly destroyed. What power I had to control my host has long been destroyed by the hands of the Dark Elf. He selfishly stripped me of my purpose. _This_ is my logic, human."

"How do I access...this?" I questioned.

From within the mirror, the other me obscurely watched me. "The crystal at your breast. Head its call, and I shall aid you in ways most beneficial to us. I am now you, and you shall be me. We are one."

"What-" I rushed.

She held up her hand, "Wake up, Jane. Your world needs you. They need us. Our purpose is to destroy whilst protecting what you deem worthy. Heed this warning, however. The more you access us, the more vulnerable you are to weakened against Thanos. As demonstrated in his brief contact, he will use any means necessary to destroy us. He clings onto rage. What you shall experience while wielding us is something more vibrant than mere rage."

"But-"

It was too late.

***end of dream sequence***

I leapt out of my consciousness to a poorly lit room. The only light emit from my chest, a soft light glowing underneath my tank top. I breathed erratically. The light traveled from the crystal at my chest down my right arm through my veins.

My glowing skin matched the speed of a snail. I took off my glove and found that a candle flickered on the table near my bed. I held out my hand toward the weak flame and the fire floated from the wick to hovering over my palm.

I smiled and exhaled at the same time, "This is amazing."

My thoughts dangerously scattered onto what more I was capable of.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE(S):**

So, a longer chapter! Nearly 4,000 words! :D This was a dream I had a while back, which is what sparked my interest in this story to begin with. I'm very pleased to have slid it in! It is supposed to be confusing, but please address your question in a review. I will submit my reply only that way! **REVIEW,** please?

**Breviary-Rose (:**


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